Shards
by Xylobones
Summary: Sequel to Fragments. The stakes are higher now - Flash Bang is as public a figure as Blurr, who has rejoined the races and quickly reclaimed his title of champion. But a new threat has arisen. Will Blurr and Flash Bang survive what is to come? BlurrxOC
1. Prologue

**I'm baaaaack! Allow me, ladies and gentlemen, to introduce the sequel to _Fragments. _the prologue you have on-screen before you is _Shards, _the action packed sequel to my dear adventure story of Blurr and Flash Bang.**

**Prologue:**

**_The stakes are higher now - Flash Bang is as public a figure as Blurr, who has rejoined the races and quickly reclaimed his title of champion. But a new threat has arisen, and not to mention Shockwave is still on the loose. Will Flash Bang and Blurr survive the trails about to face them?_**

**Pairings:**

**BlurrxOC**

**(It's a Surprise)xOC**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Prologue<span>

Shockwave was initially alerted of the black armoured femme's approach when he saw a glint of light shine from one of her weapons. He fired at the wall beside her, intentionally missing her. A wicked smile spread across her faceplate as the smoke cleared, followed by an equally wicked chuckle.

"Your aim is a little off," she quipped. Shockwave withdrew his canon.

"And _your_ stealth needs improving," he retorted. "I had no intention of hitting you. Why would I after all those solar cycles rebuilding you into the beautiful war machine you are?"

The femme slinked forwards, coming to stand inches from Shockwave. The enormous mech cupped her chin in his servo, pulling her faceplate ever so close to his.

"I have a job for you," he murmured huskily. "One that doesn't involve a trip to the recharge room."

"An assassination?" she replied, interested. "I thought you'd grown bored with my sadistic violence."

Shockwave pressed his featureless faceplate to the femme's roughly, kissing her in a way only he could do. The femme's servos danced lustily across Shockwave's back as she returned the kiss.

"I could never grow bored of _you," _he replied after finishing his onslaught.

"So, who's the target?" she asked, cutting straight to business.

"I was hoping you'd return to the murderous rampage I found you on when we first met," he replied. "You know, the one where you were killing particular Autobot femmes...?"

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><p><strong>Oh, heck, what are we getting ourselves into here?<strong>

**I have the first two and a half chapters written, but I've been trying to concentrate on a book I'm writing, so, I dunno, hopefully I'll stick to once-a-week like with _Fragments_, we'll see.**

**Please review!**


	2. New Beginnings

**I am so nervous about this. I really want it to live up to the same standard as _Fragments, _and I'm worried that it won't. It sounds fairly epic to me, but it's not up to me to judge it.**

**I _really_ hope you all enjoy it!**

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><p><span>Chapter One: New Beginnings<span>

_Left, right, twirl, leap, bend, stretch, jump, spin._

Flash Bang danced across the stage with grace, her upgraded model complementing her new job perfectly. She was a stunner, she told herself, with the grownup curves and sleek, polished armour. Many bots in the audience said she looked like a younger Flareup, which flattered Flash Bang as Flareup wasa _very_ good looking femme. The audience cheered loudly as she finished her dance in time to Rosanna's song. The pink all-star femme was still under constant surveillance, due to Blurr's dossier of evidence of her being "Flip Sides", and no-one watched her more closely than Blurr himself.

Well, when he wasn't watching Flash Bang.

Blurr sat at the table closest to the stage, applauding loudly as Flash Bang finished and bowed. As she righted herself, Blurr waved to her, and she waved back with a slight blush on her faceplate. Another dancer behind her gave a small "huff" when she realised he hadn't been waving at her. Oh how jealous the other femmes were! A little delivery femme had been scooped up by Blurr the champion racer, upgraded and brought to the stage through numerous deals made between Blurr and The Circle's proprietor. Flash Bang did sometimes feel that she had cheated to get where she was, but she made up for it by performing the most incredible dances seen in The Circle, and the other femmes begrudgingly admitted that she was brilliant.

Blurr leapt to his support servos as Flash Bang descended from the stage, taking her servos in his and giving her a well deserved kiss.

"You were fantastic," he praised her after pulling away. "I swear you get better ever solar cycle, and I wouldn't be surprised if that were true, what with all the practicing you do solar cycle by solar cycle. How can you stand to keep it up?"

"The same way you stand all that racing training," she said, kissing him. "I _enjoy _it."

Blurr hugged her tightly and kissed the on top of her helm. The femme looped her arms around him, giving him a tight squeeze. Blurr, however, stiffened slightly as Rosanna pottered down from the stage to congratulate Flash Bang. The red femme tried to turn to the pink, but found herself pinned to Blurr.

_Blurr, _she thought to him, _let me go!_

Reluctantly, Blurr released his mate, after which she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek plate before turning to Rosanna. The two had worked on the whole bond thing, and had become able to communicate perfectly well through their link. They could talk to each other through their processors even if one was miles away from the other. To be honest, it was quite handy, and Flash Bang enjoyed being able to cheer Blurr on as he raced. As Flash Bang turned to Rosanna, Blurr kept a tight hold on one of her servos.

"Great show tonight, Flash Bang," the singer congratulated. "You really do take the audience's intakes away!"

Flash Bang grinned proudly and ran the servo that wasn't being held captive by Blurr over her new curves. "The remodel helped," she chuckled.

"Don't be so modest, Flash," Blurr put in. "You were beautiful anyway."

Rosanna made a loud "aw" before saying goodnight to Flash Bang and Blurr and heading off to her backstage room. As she left, Flash Bang pulled her servos free and lightly backhanded Blurr across his abdomen with it.

"Oof!" Blurr gasped – Flash Bang's remodel had made her physically stronger as well as more curvaceous. "What was that for?"

"I've told you not to get all "intelligence agent" on Rosanna," she replied. "She's done nothing wrong, and anyway, _you're _not an intelligence agent anymore!"

She was right – with Megatron behind bars, Blurr had gone back to racing, and his mass of fans hadn't been disappointed. He'd won every race he'd participated in since his return, including the Iacon 5000 – a fifty lap race of a five hundred mile track. The only thing that kept Blurr from finishing the twenty five thousand mile race in less than a solar cycle was the fact that, from time to time, he did actually need to rest. Well, not to mention that even going at his top speed constantly it would still take approximately twelve-point-zero-two megacycles.

Less than a single megacycle later, Flash Bang found herself sat in the VIP box at the Iacon Racetrack. Blurr was stood at the starting line, jigging about in an agitated manner as he waited for the race to start. The line up was made up of the usual bunch of racers: Fasttrack, Bluestreak, Hot Shot, Bumblebee and himself. Blurr gave his yellow friend a small gesture of good luck as the crowd went wild with anticipation. The race was about to start, but then one last contestant pulled into the arena.

A silver sports car revved its engine as it pulled up to the starting line. Everyone went silent as the mysterious newcomer transformed into a tall, skinny femme. There was a mix of gasps and smothered cheers as the crowd took in the sight. The other mechs and femmes in the VIP box with Flash Bang murmured to each other about the racer's identity. Flash Bang only caught snatches of their conversations, but she didn't need them. She rocketed off her chair as she realised who it was. This was an old-time champion from before Blurr's first championship win. This was the only femme ever to _be _champion. This was the legendary, _missing_ Silverstar.

"Silverstar?" Fasttrack gasped down on the track. "You're alive?"

The femme smirked at the dumbstruck mechs, almost mockingly. "You really thought I was gone for good?" she asked, pointedly. A gormless nod from the crimson mech was the only answer she got.

Blurr looked at her curiously. Shouldn't he know her? The others certainly did, and they'd been into racing for as long as he had – longer in some cases. He turned to Bumblebee to ask him who this "Silverstar" was, but suddenly the start signal turned green and they were off.

Naturally, Blurr took the lead right away, but he was stunned to see that Silverstar was hot on his heels. Primus, she was fast! Blurr was going to have to up his game if he wanted to win. He sped on, pushing himself as hard as he could. His legendary eight hundred miles per hour took effort, and he had to build up to it.

Suddenly Silverstar was right beside him and his spark leapt in shock. No-one ever got _close _to him! Surely he would remember a challenge such as her? But he pushed on regardless, just about managing to take the lead once more. His speed was increasing rapidly now, and the finish line wasn't all that far off. But then Silverstar caught up to him again! This was impossible! No-one was anything like as fast as him! Not even Hot Shot who, for such a small bot, was really very quick.

Blurr decided something sneaky had to be done. He swerved in front of her and she hit the brakes quickly in panic. As she did this, Blurr ran up the side of the racetrack and pushed off it, sending himself further into the lead. He heard a disgruntled "Hey!" from Silverstar as he ran on, but forgot about her entirely as he crossed the finish line.

The crowd erupted into excited cheers as Blurr came to a halt, arms raised in the air as he revelled in the win. Flash Bang hopped up and down excitedly as Blurr's fans cheered, screaming her congratulations through their bond. Blurr looked up to the box and waved to her, she waved back excitedly. But then Silverstar walked up behind him, looking rather annoyed.

_Blurr, you've got trouble! _Flash Bang thought to the mech. Blurr turned to look at the silver femme, spreading his servos apologetically as she stormed towards him. The femme stood directly in front of Blurr and for a moment he thought he was in for some serious pain, but then she smiled warmly.

"Nice trick," she said happily. "I was gonna try something similar on you but you beat me to it." When Blurr didn't say anything, she continued. "I can't believe you've come back to racing, Blurr! Last I heard you were stalking Rosanna."

"I was never _stalking _Rosanna," he retorted, about to go on a massive rant about how she was a sleeper agent and this, that and the other. But Silverstar laughed.

"Well, either way," she said after a moment, "it's good to see you again."

Blurr's instant reply was "Likewise," but then he remembered that he _didn't _remember her, but she walked away before he could correct himself.

_Blurr, _Flash Bang thought, _get to the winner's podium!_

Alerted to what he should have been doing, Blurr took off towards the podium, getting there before Silverstar had even walked half way.

"You never stop running, do you, Blurr?" But Blurr didn't hear her.

Blurr took his place on the top of the podium, Silverstar on the second place block and Hot Shot on the third. Blurr shook servos with the fiery mech as they awaited their prizes. A sultry little femme sauntered up to the podium, carrying three medals for the winners. She gave Blurr an all-too-obvious wink as she looped a medal over Hot Shot's cranial unit, and continued to look him over as she looped the second one over Silverstar. No-one noticed, but Silverstar was glowering almost evilly at the femme as she did this. Finally, the femme placed the first place medal over Blurr's cranial unit. The femme's servos lingered on Blurr's neck a little longer than he'd have liked, but there wasn't a chance to ask her to let go.

_BOOM!_

The next thing Blurr knew was that he was flying through the air. He landed with a thud and groggily looked up to see what had happened, servo to his cranial unit which was aching terribly. Smoke filled the area and the ground was littered with debris. Looking about, Blurr saw that the winner's podium had been completely destroyed, and was now a smouldering pile of torn and melted scrap, and the femme was nowhere to be seen. Other than that, no-one seemed badly hurt, but then he noticed Silverstar buried beneath a support beam that had broken from under the stands. A number of mechs were on their way to help her, but none of them noticed that the stands were bending under the crowd's weight due to the lack of support.

Fast as he could, Blurr darted towards Silverstar, just as the crowd began to realise what was happening and tore into fearful screams. Blurr beat the other mechs to Silverstar and shoved the beam with all his might out of the way before yelling at some of the stronger mechs to help him shove it back under the stand. Ironhide appeared out of nowhere and helped him, followed by a much bigger bot who held the stands in place as Blurr and Ironhide manoeuvred the beam. Someone else dragged Silverstar out of the danger zone, and she was quickly seen to by a pair of medics. The amount of damage done to her was unusually minimal. A huge support beam dropping on a delicate femme like her should have snapped her in two!

There was a thick _thunk _as the beam was shoved back as close to its place as it could go, and Blurr span round almost dramatically to see if Silverstar was okay. When he saw her being tended to, he relaxed and went over to her. The crowd erupted into grateful applause as the speedster and his helpers walked to the medics.

"Are you okay?" Blurr asked Silverstar. "You didn't get too badly hurt did you? That was a heavy beam; I mean, I couldn't move it by myself, although I'm not exactly made for heavy lifting like Ironhide – who helped me just now, if you didn't see. No, I'm built for speed, not strength, which I guess you already knew but I've already said it again, so, no matter."

Silverstar chuckled merrily at Blurr as he went on his rant, giving the blue bot a large smile as he went on.

"You haven't changed a bit," she smirked. "But, yes, I'm fine, thank you. You really saved a lot of bots' skid plates just then."

Blurr smiled slightly. "Yeah, I guess did." Flash Bang came running in just then and threw he arms around Blurr in an enormous hug.

"Oh my spark, Blurr," she cried, "I thought you were slag! They refused to let me in for ages whilst they cleared the debris but I snuck past them and got in. Are you okay?"

Blurr turned to her and put his servos on the shorter bot's shoulder. "I'm fine, Flash, don't worry. And, well, you shouldn't sneak in if it's dangerous. You didn't use your flash bang charges, did you? Although, I suppose if you had, we'd have heard it."

"I took an entry out of your data pad and used stealth," she said proudly. Suddenly, she noticed the silver femme glowering at her, though the distasteful look vanished as soon as Flash Bang turned to her. The red femme was about to say something to Silverstar when she suddenly excused herself, the medics having finished with her.

"I'll see you soon I hope, Blurr," she said as she walked away, waving absently to the two of them. Blurr stood, watching her go, wracking his processor as to _who the Pit she was._

"You alright, Blurr?" Flash Bang asked, waving a servo in the blue mech's face as he stared on absently.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Blurr replied. "I just... don't remember her..." Flash Bang gasped excitedly.

"You're still missing memories?" she asked, optics wide in delight. _"Yes!_ Detective work, here I come!"

"Not again..." Blurr murmured.

"It's not just because you can't remember your _ex, _Blurr," Flash Bang chided. "It's also because she's been missing since before the war."

Blurr froze at Flash Bang's little revelation. _My ex? I've had relations with Silverstar and I don't remember? _Blurr looked down at the red femme who was happily clapping her servos together, hopping up and down on the spot and cheering about seeing an old friend.

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><p><strong>Oh heck. PLEASE tell me I've done good so far D: If this isn't as enjoyable as <em>Fragments, <em>or surpasses it, then I'll be really annoyed with myself.**

**Please review!**

**:D**


	3. The Old and The New

**Sorry for not updating yesterday like I normally would. There are two reasons for this:**

**1) I forgot it was Monday.**

**2) the login wasn't working, as you probably noticed.**

**Anyway, here's chapter two. This took so much brainpower (and you'll see why when we meet a certain pair of canon characters), but I think I did okay :P**

**Enjoy! **

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><p><span>Chapter Two: The Old and The New<span>

"A devastating terrorist attack today at Iacon Racetrack today, which is currently being investigated, although it is assumed to be linked to the few remaining Decepticons," the news reporter said. Blurr had been flicking through the numerous news channels for quite some time, chasing after the sports news. "And also an unexpected arrival on the racetrack today – Silverstar, a racing legend who disappeared at the start of the war, has reappeared and just yesterday evening made a surprise appearance at the Iacon Racetrack, competing against current champion Blurr and the other usual racers."

The report told Blurr nothing more than what he'd been told by Flash Bang, and only brushed on the past romance between Blurr and Silverstar. Blurr turned the screen off and slumped back into the sofa. He was on his own; Flash Bang had gone out to see this friend of hers and had been gone for only a few kliks before Blurr had grown bored. He'd gone about the penthouse, looking for something to do. He'd gone for a run for a little while, but went home again after being bombarded by some particularly over obsessed fans. He'd gone to The Circle to see if Rosanna was up to anything suspicious, which she wasn't. Everything he did, he'd done in about half a megacycle after Flash Bang had gone.

At home, he sat where he was, bored out of his processor. But then, when he was beginning to ponder going for another run, there was a knock at the door. He sped over to it eagerly and opened it up, expecting Flash Bang to have returned with her friend. He was surprised to find, however, Silverstar.

"Silverst-?" He didn't get chance to finish, the femme tackled him through the door, knocking him over. Pinned to the floor beneath her and rather shocked, Blurr couldn't move, but he began writhing as best he could when the femme _kissed _him.

There was nothing in the kiss except raw _want – _nothing about care or love or romance, just a lusty desire to be flat against the speedster's body. Silverstar was incredibly strong, and Blurr was virtually helpless as he was assaulted by her. But then he managed to get a servo free, and pushed himself from the floor, throwing her back as he did so. She landed in a heap on the floor in front of him as he glared at her, partially angry, partially shocked.

"What the Pit was _that?" _he demanded. Silverstar looked up at him, the hurt plain on her faceplate.

"You really have forgotten me, haven't you?"

Blurr's anger melted away as he saw there was no trickery in Silverstar's expression, just pure pain at the mech before her having lost all memory of her. But he couldn't just ignore that and make her happy by giving her what she wanted – he was _bonded _to Flash Bang!

There was something else as well. When he looked at her like someone would an old friend that they had been through countless adventures together, he felt a deep hatred rising up in him, the sudden burst of it bringing his anger back. Suddenly, his chainsaw was out and he was yelling as loud as his vocal processor would allow.

"_GET OUT!" _he yelled, surprising both himself and Silverstar, who jumped visibly. "Get out of here and don't come back! Flash Bang is the _only _femme for me and you had _better _remember it. I don't care what happened between us before the war, what's past is past. Now _go!" _

The femme was up and running in a nanoklik, gone from view before Blurr could even think about what he'd just done. When it all caught up with him, he was beyond shocked. He'd _never _exploded like that before. Well, as far as he remembered at least. He retracted his chainsaw as he returned to normal, dragging himself to the sofa where he slumped down, dazed and confused.

What was happening to him? He didn't remember Silverstar at all, and yet the entire planet knew of this little romance and seemed intent to keep it secret from him. Even Flash Bang had, against all odds, managed to keep it secret. But what he'd felt when he'd shouted Silverstar down, he couldn't begin to describe the rage and hatred he'd felt. It was monumental, all-consuming, alien. But _why _had he felt it? What, exactly, had happened?

There were only two bots who would know, and they were the ones Flash Bang and her secretive comrade were hot on the trail of. Tip-toeing down the streets of Iacon side by side, Flash Bang and Searchlight were close to their target.

"Are you sure they're usually down here?" Flash Bang whispered. It wasn't actually necessary for them to be acting like spies, but Flash Bang's sparkling-like demeanour had meant that the only way to get her to go _anywhere _was to make it out that being as secretive as possible was absolutely, undeniably important to their "mission".

"They _always _come here," Searchlight replied, a little louder than Flash Bang. "Ever heard the term "trip down memory lane"? They practically live it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, since Blurr became an Intel agent, they came this way frequently to remember what it was like when the three of them used to spend every free moment together," Searchlight explained. "Not that Blurr completely left them. He'd still spend time with them whenever he could. But when he was sent to Earth, he lost contact with them for some time. He hasn't contacted them since leaving, as far as I'm aware."

"And he's not mentioned them either," Flash Bang responded. "Maybe he still doesn't remember them?"

"Sounds like your bondmate still has a few screws loose," Searchlight quipped. Flash Bang shrugged.

"He's better than he was," she retorted. "Can you imagine not knowing who you even are when half the planet respects and adores you?" she wondered, drifting away for a moment. Searchlight snapped his digits in her faceplate, bringing her back to reality.

"Stay with us, Flash," he murmured. "There's the target."

Flash Bang looked up from where they stood in the shadows. Up ahead were two bots who could not have been more distinct from one another. One was tiny and bright orange, whereas the other was huge, even bigger than Bulkhead, and mostly white and grey in colour. They were pottering around the old racetracks, down in an area of Iacon that had been severely damaged during the war. The area was largely deserted, but these two were acting like the area was full of as much life as ever. They were hopping about from place to place and talking loudly about "the good old days", presumably when the racetrack was still functional.

"Does Dug Base remember when Blurr was just a contender?" the little orange one asked. Hearing his rhyming speech pattern brought up one of Flash Bang's own memories – the poem in the journal entry had mentioned a "rhyming friend". Blurr _must _have heard from these two since coming home.

"Answer: affirmative," the huge one, Dug Base replied. "Those times: good."

"These two could get annoying fast," Searchlight murmured. "What weird speech patterns." Flash Bang elbowed him in the side, making him grin cheekily.

"Come on," Flash Bang whispered. "We ought to make ourselves known."

Flash Bang and Searchlight walked into the open in a casual manner, as if they'd been walking that way the whole time, rather than sneaking around. The two mechs looked over at them, a funny look on their faceplates. Well, a funny look on the orange one's, the white one seemed fairly blank. Or indifferent.

"Oh, sorry to bother you," Flash Bang said casually to the two of them. "We were just passing through." She paused for a moment, doing her best to act like she was trying very hard to recognise them. "Don't you two know Blurr?"

The orange one gave a slight start at the name. "Why, yes we do, but who are you?"

"My name's Flash Bang," she replied, "and this is Searchlight."

"Flash Bang and Searchlight? Wheelie hopes you don't want to fight," he replied, taking on what looked to be a stance from Circuit-Su. Something about him was terribly suspicious.

"Oh, no, no, no," Searchlight butted in. "We're not here for trouble."

"Blurr's still missing a few memories," Flash Bang began. "You two don't know what happened between him and Silverstar, do you?"

Wheelie and Dug Base shot a quick glance at each other, unsure whether to tell her or not, but then Flash Bang explained that she was Blurr's bondmate.

"Oh, _that _Flash Bang, the one with whom Rosanna sang?" Wheelie asked, relaxing visibly.

"Well, I dance, but yes, that's me," she corrected.

"Wheelie: explain," Dug Base said to his friend. It was hard to understand what he meant when he spoke, what with no emphasis on any of his words.

"A long time ago, Blurr was somebot you wouldn't know," Wheelie began. Flash Bang had a feeling his rhyming was going to make this painful to listen to. "But then Blurr got fast and had a blast, and with Silverstar he was on par."

"Silverstar: defeated," Dug Base added. "Blurr: new champion."

"But Silverstar was very angry, and on Blurr she unleashed her fury. She did her best to make him loose, but through the races he did cruise. Coming out on top, Blurr was loved, and Silverstar to the bottom was shoved."

"So she was jealous of Blurr's victories?" Searchlight asked, trying to clarify. It was hard to get the message straight when it was coming in rhyming form.

"Verdict: correct," Dug Base said.

"But then something happened that broke the trend, when Silverstar's life nearly came to an end. Though Silverstar caused Blurr much strife, in the end he saved her life. An explosion destroyed the old race tracks, but Blurr leapt over all the cracks. He got her out of the danger zone, and from then on she wanted him alone."

"So that's how their relationship began?" Flash Bang pressed. She was getting into this.

"Assumption: incorrect," Dug Base said. "Real answer: more complicated."

"For a time she thought of nothing but him, and through it all he continued to win. When one day he was celebrating, Silverstar settled to concentrating. A way to have him she did seek, and eventually this did peek. She told him "I owe you a favour", and suddenly lusty was her behaviour! She and Blurr were together for a time, but the other femmes began to whine. To kiss Blurr, one of them dared, and when Silverstar found them, the femme grew scared! Sparkbroken, Silverstar fled the scene, but for femmes Blurr grew even more keen."

"I remember hearing he was a bit of a player," Searchlight mumbled. Flash Bang stamped down on his support servo, making him gasp in agony. Her heel struts were rather pointy these days.

"Flash Bang: loves Blurr," Dug Base said. Flash Bang guessed it was a question.

"Yes..." she replied in the most serious tone she could muster. "Have you heard about what happened to him?"

"We've heard the rumours, but we're not sure, Blurr's memory loss you managed to cure?" Wheelie asked.

Flash Bang paused to think about it all for a moment, her memories of the adventure to Earth with Blurr flashing through her processor. Finally, an idea came to her.

"Why don't you two come see him?" she offered. "I'm sure he'd love to see you guys again!"

A huge smile spread across Wheelie's faceplate, and he charged over to Flash Bang to hug her around the waist. He was _tiny!_

"To come see him would be much appreciated," he said. "If by us your nerves won't be grated?"

"No need to be worrying about me," she replied. "You two really seem to be missing Blurr."

A more immediate matter was that Blurr was missing Flash Bang.

"Where is she?" Blurr moaned out loud to himself. "She's been gone forever!"

_Oh, don't be such a protoform, _came Flash Bang's voice through his processor. _I'm on my way, and I have a surprise for you!_

_I dread to think what, _Blurr thought back.

Not long later, the door slid open. Blurr was there in a shot, expecting anything but what he saw. His optics widened as he saw the door frame filled with the forms of the hulking Dug Base and the almost dismally small Wheelie.

"Wha-?" For the second time that day, Blurr was tackled, only this time by people he _liked._

"Blurr: home," Dug Base said, holding both Blurr and Wheelie in his enormous embrace. How had he managed to get through the door?

"Blurr is back to keep his friends sane, let's try not to lose him again!" Wheelie cheered. Blurr laughed heartily at this.

"I came to say hello ages ago!"

"And yet we have not seen you since! It's not like you can't come, you're not some prince! All you wanted was a rhyme so you could show your new femme a good time!"

"_Wheelie!" _Blurr cried, but Flash Bang had descended into a mighty fit of laughter. "You just have to embarrass me, don't you? Honestly, fancy saying that _in front _of her!"

But Flash Bang was laughing so hard that Wheelie knew he wasn't really in trouble. A cheeky grin spread across his faceplate as Dug Base released him and Blurr, placing them gently on the ground. Blurr rubbed his abdomen as he was finally freed from the monumental bot's grip, though he managed to shoot a mock glare at his short orange friend.

"To see Blurr is a good thing, we missed having our third wing."

"I was never a _wingman!" _Blurr protested, but everyone was chuckling now.

Flash Bang slipped round Dug Base and Wheelie to stand in front of Blurr. She gave him a quick kiss hello but then descended into further giggles.

"I like them," she declared flatly after regaining control over herself.

"You would," Blurr retorted, but he grinned anyway, looking up at Dug Base and Wheelie. "It's good to see you guys. I haven't had chance to say hello to you properly, and I'm sorry about that. I meant to make a point of coming but leaving Intel and starting at the races again has taken up so much _time!"_

"We don't need your apologies, just let us know that you're staying, please," Wheelie replied.

"I'm not going anywhere soon," Blurr replied. "Not off-planet anyway."

"Am I ever going to be introduced?" Searchlight mumbled from behind Dug Base. He hadn't said a word since they'd arrived.

"Oh, sorry, Searchlight," Flash Bang said, taking him by the arm and leading him towards Blurr. "This is my old friend Searchlight. He's a detective."

"Is he your inspiration for gathering my lost memories, by any chance? It seems like a likely explanation to me," Blurr asked. Flash Bang shrugged.

"Maybe a little bit," she replied, giving Blurr a cheeky wink. Blurr rolled his optics, laughing. He then extended a servo to Searchlight.

"Nice to meet you," he said.

"Likewise," the white mech replied, taking Blurr's servo in his.

"I thought the five of us could have a reacquainting session over some Energon," Flash Bang said, disappearing off into the next room. She reappeared with cans of various drinks, namely Heinleinken. Everyone settled down in the living room, already laughing and chatting amongst each other. It was a pleasant atmosphere by anyone's standards, and Blurr soon forgot about Silverstar's little visit.

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><p>Spirits were high as the five bots sat together with both full and empty cans of Energon drinks. Wheelie had got particularly merry, but his rhyming was taking a particularly heavy toll.<p>

"Wheelie say... uh... what rhymes with- _HZzzT!" _the little bot tried to say. Every time he tried to rhyme he'd just freeze up and static would pour out of his vocal processor. The others were finding it hilarious, but Wheelie was growing quite annoyed.

Blurr's speech, on the other hand, had gone from its usual almost-intelligible speed to a very sluggish, _normal _pace. Flash Bang found it funny to hear him talk like a normal bot, and found no end of fun when pestering him to speak. He was having static problems, too.

"Let me- _HZzzt!_ -ask _you _a question," Blurr slurred, waving a servo in an over exaggerated manner at Searchlight. "How did- _HZzzT!_ -you meet Flash?"

Searchlight chuckled slightly at Blurr. He was the only one who hadn't been getting over-energised, but he'd still had a few and was ever so slightly more relaxed than he usually was. "Well, Flash had been waltzing about Iacon's backstreets alone –" he turned to Flash Bang, "which is a really dumb thing to do, you know. Anyway, so she was wandering the backstreets alone when these huge thugs appeared and had her cornered. I was on one of my little... drives... when I happened to come by the very street they were on. They looked vicious, so I beat the slag out of 'em and rescued Flash. Ever since then, we've been good friends."

"Yeeeeah, but you stopped coming over when Meeercury revealed sheeeee wanted us to bond," Flash Bang mumbled. If he'd been sober, Blurr would have tensed at this.

"You'd have done the same," Searchlight replied. "It was rather awkward, after all."

"You're more of a brotheeeeeeer to me," Flash Bang added. "That'd have beeeeen gross." Flash Bang's over-energised speech was characterised by over emphasising random "e" sounds, it seemed. There was a thick _clunk _as Flash Bang's cranial unit fell against the back of the sofa. She'd fallen into an over-energised recharge.

"Better get her to berth," Seachlight mumbled. Blurr initially moved to take her, but Seachlight pushed him back into his seat. "I'll do it, you're too far gone. You'll probably drop her."

Searchlight lifted the comatose femme over his shoulder and disappeared off to the recharge room. The light flickered on automatically as he entered, revealing the large and comfy berth. Searchlight laid Flash Bang down on it. When he'd settled her, he gave her a look so adorably nostalgic that it was heard to believe he was a vigilante crime fighter.

When Searchlight returned to the others, Wheelie and Dug Base had also fallen into recharge, and Blurr was on his way, too. Searchlight knew there wasn't much point in staying any longer, and so headed for the door. As he passed Blurr, however, he said in a clear and decisive tone, "You are incredibly lucky to have her."

* * *

><p><strong>So, okay, this chapter was mostly to add depth to what's going on. But I like it :P<strong>

**Nitghlightbee and Awesomeness - thank yooooouuuuuuuu!**

**Please review!**

**:D**


	4. The Effects of the Past

**I'm actually really excited for this chapter. Like, _really _excited. You'll see why when you read it! :P**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter Three: Effect of the Past<span>

The next day, Flash Bang woke up with an intense processor ache. Servos cupping her faceplate, she rolled onto her side, expecting Blurr to be there. When he wasn't, she was slightly shocked, but then memories of the previous night came flooding back to her in a vivid stream and she knew he'd still be in the living room.

Sure enough, there he was, splayed out on the sofa. He was leant against Dug Base, who was sat beside the sofa, being far too big to sit on it. Flash Bang grinned at the sight and then leant down to give Blurr a soft kiss on the lip modules. Blurr mumbled quietly in his recharge in response and shifted in his seat. Once settled a faint amount of static flowed from his vocal processor – the Transformer equivalent of snoring.

Flash Bang quietly grabbed the nearest data pad and typed in a message to Blurr, telling him she was going out and would be home before long. She slipped the pad into his servo and then quietly left the penthouse.

Flash Bang was a free spirit, it had to be said, and, even though she'd _chosen_ this new life, she loved nothing more than slipping out of it for a megacycle of two. She walked along the streets of Iacon at a comfortable pace, servos clasped behind her back and the light shining off her crimson armour, creating a dazzling, disco ball-like display on the nearby walls. But, despite her intense sense of free will, she did have some sense of responsibility, albeit geared towards things that interested her, rather than things that she needed to do. Right now for instance, her constant interest in Blurr's problematic memory banks drew her towards the once place she knew she could go for answers, other than Wheelie and Dug Base, of course.

The Iacon Racetrack – slightly singed from the previous day's little accident but still in working order. The cleanup crew had done a good job of fixing up the winner's podium and the broken beams beneath the stands – in less than a solar cycle they'd rebuilt them completely! The dedication some bots had to the city was awe inspiring.

Flash Bang slipped into the racetrack, waving to the staff as she passed them. They were all very friendly to her, and there were two keys reasons to this: one) Blurr, enough said and two) she was drop dead gorgeous nowadays.

She stepped out into the bright lights of the stadium, taking in the sight of the racetrack. The monumental arena was an incredible sight, but what many of the small number of bots sat in the stands were more interested in was the silver racer darting around the track.

Flash Bang had to admit that Silverstar was an impressive racer, although she clearly wasn't as good as Blurr. Flash Bang timed her as she completed a few more laps, and saw she was a whole three seconds slower than Blurr on her fastest attempt before she finally packed in for the day. The femme slinked away from the track, heading towards the doorway Flash Bang was watching her from. The silver femme smiled, slightly awkwardly, as she noticed the red.

"Hey, you – er, Flash Bang, isn't it?" she greeted. Flash Bang nodded.

"That's right," Flash Bang replied. "I was wondering if I could have a word with you?"

"Of course, if you don't mind walking and talking," Silverstar answered, gesturing down the corridor. "How can I help you?"

Now, Flash Bang didn't notice, but there was the slightest hostile air to her movements. Her every step was precise and planned, as if she were ready to strike, but was waiting for the opportune moment. Her digits twitched, wanting to curl up into a fist, but Flash Bang didn't notice at all.

"I was just wondering what it was that happened to you?" Flash Bang asked. "When you vanished, I mean. All those stellar cycles missing and then you just popped up again! I don't mean to inquire into your private life, but I'm sure I'm not the only curious bot in Iacon."

Silverstar smiled, a tense expression which, once again, Flash Bang failed to notice. She was too caught up in the prospect of being the first to know about Silverstar's disappearance. The two walked out into the street, and turned off into an alley, all the while Silverstar appearing to be thinking her response through. Down a quiet alley, Silverstar stopped and turned to look at Flash Bang.

"I guess that, all I can say is, I had time to work."

"Work?" Flash Bang pressed, curiously. If she'd known what was coming, she wouldn't have asked.

A series of clicks followed, and Silverstar's armour rearranged itself, flipping over to reveal a black underside and moving about to realign into a far spikier arrangement. Flash Bang's optics widened and she took a step back, a gasp rising in her vents as Silverstar transformed from famed Autobot to short lived Decepticon.

"Oh Primus," Flash Bang squeaked, clapping her servos over her faceplate. "Dark Spark..."

"So you know of me, do you?" Dark Spark purred. "I had thought the only Autobot to know of my existence was Blurr, and he clearly does not remember me."

"What Autobot femme _doesn't_ know you?" Flash Bang retorted. "You've killed loads of us!"

"And _that_ is why there are so few Autobot femmes," Dark Spark replied as if teaching Flash Bang a lesson in history. "Did you notice the pattern of femmes? Or am I to teach you about that chapter of my personal history another solar cycle?"

Dark Spark levelled a gun at Flash Bang's faceplate, and the smaller femme shrank back. Instinctively she readied a flash bang charge, but first of all she dodged the oncoming blast, ducking to the left as Dark Spark fired the first shot. The wall behind her exploded, embedding shrapnel in her shoulder armour. Flash Bang gasped in pain but threw out the charge, doing a dodge roll further down the alley as it went off. Dark Spark staggered back as the explosion rocked her sensors, servos clasped to her cranial unit.

Flash Bang took off down the alley running at full speed. But Dark Spark was faster than her by miles, and as soon as she'd recovered she was on top of the younger femme once more. Flash Bang fell to the ground as Dark Spark shot her in the leg, a screech of pain tearing through her.

Suddenly there was another loud explosion, but this one was away from Flash Bang and closer to Dark Spark, who was blown into a wall by the force of it. Dark Spark collapsed to the floor, unconscious, and soon a thick, strong arm was looped around Flash Bang. The red femme was flung over her rescuer's shoulder, right between two sets of silver spikes – one on the bot's shoulder, the other on their neck. Flash Bang was too weak to make much of it, and began to waver in and out of consciousness as the pain began to overtake her body.

_Did you notice the pattern of femmes?_

They'd all been with Blurr.

* * *

><p>The next thing Flash Bang knew was that she was laid out on a berth – a hard one that was probably used for medical reasons. She shot a quick glance around her, and noticed a number of mods littered on the numerous shelves. There was even an entire head on one shelf. Flash Bang moved slightly, wincing as her shoulder and leg simultaneously erupted into painful malfunctions. Her limbs twitched slightly, but before long she had them under control once more. They hurt like slag, though.<p>

"Take it easy," a rough voice mumbled. "The shrapnel in yer shoulder was buried in deep, and the damage to yer leg wasn't pretty, either. Got ya patched up good enough for now, though."

Flash Bang groaned and gently rotated her shoulder. "Thanks," she mumbled in reply. "Who do I have to thank?"

Flash Bang regretted asking the second she found out. From out of a shadowy doorway to her left, the huge, hulking figure of Lockdown stalked into the light. Flash Bang felt all feeling drain from her body, only to be replaced by dread. Her mouth fell open as the huge bounty hunter approached her, although the way he walked seemed non-threatening, she couldn't help but feel a mix of hate and fear – because of what he'd done to her family... what he'd done to _Gearshift_. Why had he, out of all bots Decepticons or Autobots, saved her?

"I'm pretty sure ya know who I am, protoform," he replied, "though I'm equally sure we've never been... _properly _introduced. Name's Lockdown, femme."

"Flash Bang," the femme replied cautiously. She wasn't sure how to act with him. "Why did _you _save me?"

"Obligation," he answered. "A mutual friend of ours would have come but he's... busy."

"Mutual friend? Who the slag would I know that _you _know?" Flash Bang snapped.

"Clearly yer a little touchy," he replied. "Guess ya have reason, what the version of the story ya were given."

"What are you _on about?" _Flash Bang demanded.

"Get some recharge, protoform," Lockdown mumbled roughly. "Yer gonna need it."

Flash Bang shot another glance around the room, looking at the mods displayed like trophies all around her as if screaming a silent warning at her.

"I'm not gonna steal yer mods," Lockdown rumbled. "I got flash bang launchers off a mech I met stellar cycles ago. Forget his name, but then again, I only ever remember the mods. Not much point in remembering a dead bot's name, anyhow."

Flash Bang winced at his words, not comforted in the slightest. But soon Lockdown was punching commands into a nearby computer, and subsequently the whole room shook, prompting Flash Bang to realise they weren't in a building, but a _ship. _

"Welcome to the Death's Head," Lockdown said as the ship took off.

* * *

><p>"<em>She's here, you know," Prowl murmured as he lay, helpless, on the berth in Lockdown's ship. Lockdown didn't bother to turn to him.<em>

"_What are ya on about?" he asked._

"_Gearshift's sparkling," Prowl clarified. "She's here with Blurr."_

"_I don't have time to watch over any protoforms today," Lockdown replied._

"_And why would you in the first place?"_

"_... Personal matters..."_

_Prowl began to hum softly as he manipulated his bonds with processor over matter..._

* * *

><p>Blurr woke up when the data pad slipped from his servo and dropped to the ground. He jumped visibly, scared by the sound, and fell from the sofa, landing right on the data pad. The screen cracked but the entry was still readable.<p>

"What...?" Blurr moaned as he pushed himself up. His processor was throbbing terribly and his vision was filled with faint static. He pulled the data pad out from under him and squinted to make out the writing.

_Gone out to the Iacon Racetrack – I'll be back before long. Love, Flash._

"What's she up to now?" Blurr grumbled. Suddenly he was pulled to his feet from the waist by Dug Base.

"Flash Bang: gone," Dug Base inquired. Blurr nodded.

"Down to the tracks," Blurr mused. "Probably to see Silverstar. She better not get into any trouble."

"Flash Bang is curious, nothing makes her more serious," Wheelie quipped, coming out of his over energised recharge. "But maybe the heroic Blurr should go and check on her?"

Blurr straightened up and stretched out, his backbone infrastructure clicking as he extended his body. He sighed in relief and relaxed, turning towards the door.

"I'll be back before long," Blurr said dismissively. He was still half in recharge.

Blurr sped down the streets of Iacon to the racetracks. Unlike Flash Bang, when Blurr had somewhere to go, he went with purpose and did not hang about to admire his surroundings. Yet, this often unobservant bot had been one of Intel's best agents.

Blurr arrived at Iacon Racetrack literally seconds after setting off. A cloud of dust dramatically announced his arrival to the rather gobsmacked bots in the near vicinity, but there was a simultaneous "whoop!" as it cleared, revealing Blurr to them all.

"Impressive entry, Blurr," a femme called out. He turned to see a blue coloured femme jumping up and down and squealing excitedly at him, waving manically to get his attention. Blurr gave a small wave back before heading into the tracks.

Blurr walked up to the reception desk inside. He didn't recognise the little mech behind the desk, but when he noticed the speedster he gave a start and saluted somewhat awkwardly. Blurr frowned slightly and waved the gesture off.

"Have you seen Flash Bang come this way?" Blurr asked the receptionist.

"Oh, yes," he replied. "She came to talk to Silverstar a megacycle or so ago."

"Where is she now?"

"They both left," the receptionist answered. He leant over the desk and pointed down an alley. "They went down there. Not long after there was a huge explosion and the Autotroopers have been all over the place since."

"Explosion?" Blurr cried. "What the Pit has she got herself into this time? She's always wandering off, and you know what? She wouldn't get into half as much trouble if she didn't wonder off _alone! _What worries me more, though, is that I can't feel her through our spark bond."

Not waiting for a response from the receptionist, Blurr took off down the alley. He skidded to a halt as he came faceplate to faceplate with an Autotrooper barring his way, however.

"No one is to come this way, sir," the Autotrooper said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever," Blurr dismissed. "I just wanted to know what happened here. I have a right to know as I believe my bondmate was involved."

Blurr was good at acting like authority; he'd had it for a long time, after all. The Autotrooper shrank back slightly at the force in Blurr's words, but answered anyway.

"There were two Decepticons here," he began. "We don't know why, but they had a fight... and an Autobot femme was carried off by the victor, which we're pretty sure was the bounty hunter known as Lockdown."

"_WHAT?" _Blurr screeched. "She was carried off by _Lockdown?"_

Before the Autotrooper could respond, Blurr turned on his heel and ran. He ran all the way to the Metroplex, clear on the other side of the city. But before he could ascend the ramp, a quick, black form pounced on him and dragged him down a side street. Next thing he knew, Blurr was pinned to the wall, the hand of his attacker keeping him firmly in place, pressed against his chest. Blurr looked at his attacker for a moment. It was a Decepticon femme.

"Hello, Blurr," she purred. "Fancy seeing _you_ here."

_Another femme who knows me, great, _Blurr thought to himself. "Who are you?"

The femme released Blurr, satisfied that she had gained his attention. "My name is Dark Spark, Blurr. Does the name ring any bells?"

"No."

"I thought as much."

The femme looked him up and down before running a digit along the seam where glass met metal on his chest. Blurr involuntarily shivered. That was one spot where he was particularly sensitive. Regardless of how pleasurable the sensation may have been, Blurr slapped her servo away.

"Do you mind? I'm bonded," he snarled.

"So I have heard," Dark Spark mused. "But I have never let that stop me before."

Blurr pushed her away and glowered at her. "Did you have anything to do with the fight near the Iacon Racetrack?"

Dark Spark sighed, irritated. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I was there and I saw your precious little hussy bot get dragged away."

"_Hussy?"_ Blurr snapped, grabbing Dark Spark by the throat and shoving her against the wall behind her. "Don't you _dare_ call her such a thing!"

"Apologies, Blurr," she said lightly, spreading her servos. "I just remember what you were like _before _your Intel days."

"And how would _you _know?" Blurr growled. But then he shook his cranial unit and let her go. "Never mind that, what happened to Flash Bang?"

Dark Spark shrugged in mock innocence. "I would not know, Blurr, but I can guess." She looked over at him, giving him yet another once-over. "The cot is in the canyon."

"What?"

But in a cloud of smog from her engines, Dark Spark was gone.

Blurr shook his head and turned to head home. What on Cybertron could she have meant? A cot in a canyon? The only canyons on Cybertron were the Sonic Canyons, but sparklings weren't raised there. True, protomatter for protoforms came from there, but protoforms weren't _kept_ there. Either way, Blurr had a lead, and he would follow it regardless. But he was going to need some help.

* * *

><p>Lockdown gently set the ship down, more out of skill than for needing to. Flash Bang tried to stand, only to freeze up with pain again. Lockdown looped on huge arm under her and carried her out like a sparkling. She tensed against him, grateful for the help but still terrified of the huge mech. He wasn't exactly rough with her, but not particularly gentle either, moving her for the sake of efficiency rather than because she needed the help.<p>

The ship's hatch opened up, allowing Lockdown to climb down into the open. Flash Bang looked around them, and her spark leapt as she realised where they were. The Sonic Canyons – the source of all protomatter on Cybertron, and generally not a particularly favoured place to live due to the loud noises that could be heard coming from deep within Cybertron. Lockdown carried her over a thin strip of metal; leading from the platform he'd landed the ship on to a cave in the canyon wall. Flash Bang had to lower the sensitivity on her audio receptors in order to deal with the noise.

Lockdown stalked into the cave, going deep inside until they came to a berth. He let her down with a slight _thump, _sending a wave of agony through her systems. Flash Bang let out a pained yelp as she settled, though Lockdown didn't indicate that he noticed this.

"Be careful with her," a smooth, relatively gentle voice commanded from the shadows. "Those wounds go a little deeper than you've noticed."

"Yeah, well, yer the one that took an interest in being a field medic after yer training was done," Lockdown retorted.

"That may be the case," the hidden mech replied. "But you could still do to learn a little _courtesy. _Femmes prefer a gentler touch." There was something familiar about his voice, and, for some reason, it filled Flash Bang with warmth and comfort.

"And the last time _you _had anything to with a femme was, what, over a million stellar cycles ago?" Lockdown replied. "And what ya doing hiding in the shadows? Ya wanted her, didn't ya?"

"Of course I did," the other mech hissed, irritated. "Why wouldn't I want to see my creation out of harm's way?"

"_Creation?" _Flash Bang cried out. "Who the Pit _are _you?"

There was a moment of silence, but then the mech shifted in his seat and stood up, light glinting off his armour ever so slightly. Hesitantly, the mech stepped into the light. Green armour came into view, covering a tall and strongly built body. Flash Bang knew that armour, and when she fully realised who it was that stood before her an intense swirl of emotions tore through her; joy, shock, wonder and the slightest hint of anger. Words couldn't describe exactly how she felt when she saw him.

When she saw Gearshift.

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><p><strong>OMG he's alive.<strong>

**-giggle-**

**Please review!**

**:D**


	5. A Familiar Faceplate

**Short chapter is short because it serves its purpose.**

**No Blurr in this chapter, I'm afraid, in fact it's OC heavy.**

**Enjoy!**

**:D**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Four: A Familiar Faceplate<span>

"Oh my spark," was all Flash Bang could muster. Gearshift gave a small smile as she stared at him, unsure how to think… or _unable_ to think.

"Hello, Flash Bang," he greeted warmly, as if she'd just returned home from going out for the day. Gearshift seemed as unsure how to react as Flash Bang was, but he was clearly happy, although his joy was tempered by uncertainty. This vanished, however, as Flash Bang leapt and threw her arms around him, ignoring the pain in her shoulder and leg. Gearshift wrapped his own arms around her and gave her a gentle squeeze, avoiding her wounds. The tender scene seemed to last for a pleasant eternity, but then the fact that _Gearshift was alive _hit Flash Bang.

"Wha- what's going on?" Flash Bang demanded. "What are you doing _here?"_

"What, you mean instead of a scrap yard?" Gearshift chuckled. "Long story, sweetspark. Maybe another day." Lockdown chose that moment to make a throaty "heh", drawing Flash Bang's attention to the _other _fact that her mech creator was also bunking with his apparent murderer.

"What are you doing with _Lockdown?" _Flash Bang continued. She was getting somewhat hysterical. "After what he did to Master Yoketron's dojo? And if you were alive all this time, why didn't you come home? We _needed _you!"

Clearly, Gearshift wasn't sure what to say. He probably hadn't banked on having to explain this story… ever.

"Flash, please, you need to rest," Gearshift soothed, but Flash Bang wasn't having it.

"NO! Not until you explain what the _Pit _has been going on!" Flash Bang screeched. "One million stellar cycles gone, and you just have your _best friend cross fake murderer _pull me out of Iacon to come see you like some twisted family visit?"

"Flash Bang," Gearshift said, all comfort gone from his voice to be replaced by a more stern tone. "Calm down."

But Flash Bang was not prepared to calm down, and she readied her flash bang charges before another word could be uttered. Lockdown saw this, however, and quickly raised a custom built EMP generator and stunned her. Flash Bang gasped loudly as everything went fuzzy. She dropped to all fours and simply knelt there as Gearshift raised one of his own guns at Lockdown.

"Don't hurt her!" he growled. "You may have saved her from Dark Spark but she's still _my _responsibility."

"In which case, better teach her to control her emotions," the bounty hunter said, turning and walking further into his hideout. Gearshift scooped Flash Bang up off the floor and gently laid her back on the berth. For a moment, he just looked at her, taking in her presence and, well, just _her. _She wrinkled her faceplate slightly as she came back around.

"I think that may have been a little bit unnecessary," she moaned.

"And I'd have to agree with you," Gearshift replied. "But regardless, you must listen to me, Flash Bang. As long as you're immobilised, I may as well explain myself." When Flash Bang didn't respond, he continued. "I'm sorry for not coming back. You can't imagine just how much I wanted to come home, to see you, to hold Mercury in my arms again. Just once more would have been enough."

"So why didn't you?" Flash Bang hissed.

"I've been busy, doing what any Autobot would do – ridding the planet of Decepticons," he began.

"And you didn't get rid of Lockdown because…?"

"Because he isn't _really_ a Decepticon," he explained. "And we have a long mutual history. Back at the dojo, we were as close as an electrode and a diode." He leant forwards and whispered to her, "Though I wouldn't say he's a good bot. Ever. But he was a good friend to me back in those days. But when war broke out and Lockdown prepared to attack the dojo… He…"

Gearshift dropped his cranial unit into his servos and his body quivered. His shame was beyond obvious. "I helped him attack the dojo."

"_What?"_ Flash Bang cried, stunned. "Why?"

"Because Master Yoketron had forbidden all of his students to have lovers," Gearshift explained. "And when he found out about you and Mercury… He was beyond angry. Every rule he'd set down, I'd broken by just falling in love with her. But what did it matter? I had to choose between the femme I loved and what I was good at doing, and by the time he found out, you were already long protoformed. But the things he said to me, about dishonour and all the rest, how could I not feel angry? I wanted him to see that I didn't need _him, _but in the end I just ran like I always did."

"So you _didn't _attack with Lockdown?" Flash Bang pressed. The thoughts running through her processor where muddled to say the least.

"No, but I led him through to a secret entryway I was shown when Yoketron viewed me as one of his more… favoured students," Gearshift continued. "I was one of the few he trusted with his greatest secret techniques, and with that came his supposedly ever lasting trust. But he couldn't see just how much of a better bot I'd become by knowing Mercury. I'd been arrogant, selfish, and he thought that it was _his _life lessons that had put me straight. Mercury taught me so much, Yoketron just taught me to fight.

"Before Lockdown began the attack, I left. I ran like a slagging coward from Iacon to these damn canyons and never once looked back. He helped me remain hidden by faking my death, by pretending to murder me. But after a few months I began roaming the planet, looking for Decepticons and taking them out whenever I found them. It was the only thing I could do that made me feel any better. As much as I wanted to go back to you and Mercury, I just couldn't help but feel the guilt at what I'd done when I thought of you, let alone see you. But I never wanted to just give up, so what else could I do?"

"How did you never get found out?" Flash Bang asked.

"Simple, I killed anyone who saw me, and only _Decepticons _ever saw me," Gearshift stated. "Well, except Prowl."

"Prowl? I met him! The only thing he ever seemed to talk to me about was you."

Gearshift grinned. "He saw me just the once, and it was only for a second. I'm certain he knew it was me, however, but I got away before he could really see. We trained together, you know, long time ago. In fact, it wasn't long before… before the attack. But I'm getting sidetracked.

"Lockdown heard through Rattletrap about you and that speedster, Blurr. When he was attacked by Shockwave back at Intel, Lockdown wasn't far away and managed to find you both as you fled. He took on Shockwave from the shadows, distracting him for a little while whilst you got away. After that, he took off after you both but got a little… sidetracked… with the ego trip Sentinel Prime was having down there on that Earth planet. But after Prowl got caught up in the Decepticon hunt he was having, he was reminded of what he was _supposed _to be doing and got right back to it."

"Well that much is good to know," Flash Bang mumbled sarcastically. "But why did _Lockdown_ take to watching over me?"

"Because I'd helped him in the attack," Gearshift explained. "I helped him so he helped me. I wanted nothing more than to watch over you myself, but hunting Decepticons takes a _lot _of time and effort."

Gearshift looked at Flash Bang and saw that her faceplate was still tense with uncertainty. There was no questioning this bot's identity, but his actions? Flash Bang found it all too easy to blame him for the past stellar cycles of struggling to make a decent living, for the orbital cycles spent mourning his supposed loss, the agonising pain at having lost someone who, evidently, had been fine all along. How could she not feel any resentment towards him now?

"I never expected you to be proud of what I've done," Gearshift added. "All I can ask is that you understand this – I did it all for you and Mercury."

Flash Bang looked away from him, towards the wall. "All you've done was for _yourself_. Mercury said you were self-involved when she first met you, but I never saw it in you before. Maybe I didn't want to. You disappeared so that nobot would know what you'd done, how you'd disgraced yourself. You didn't care about us, you just didn't want people to call you a traitor."

"I'm no traitor, Flash," Gearshift pleaded. "I've killed so many Decepticons."

"And because of _you_ the Autobots lost so many protoforms!" Flash Bang raged, sitting up straight despite the pain. "Every 'Con you've killed was probably replaced by one of them, one of what should have been an _Autobot. _How can you say you feel better killing 'Cons when they're only going to be replaced by what _your selfish attitude _cost us? How can you even continue to call yourself an Autobot?"

"Because, Flash Bang, it's like they say," Gearshift began, "love is a form of insanity, and some bots will do the most stupid things because of it. I betrayed Master Yoketron because I loved Mercury, because I didn't want to have some old bot think it's shameful to be with whom your spark draws you to. I was presented with a choice, and I made the wrong decision, I won't deny it. But you and Mercury lived without my shame because of it."

"But we _struggled_ without you," Flash Bang protested. "We had so little left after all was said and done. You used to just effortlessly drag in the Energon and we were so used to it that Mercury was left without a clue of what to do next."

"And for that I am truly sorry, Flash Bang," Gearshift insisted. "But imagine how much worse it would have been trying to live with my mistake."

Flash Bang couldn't deny Gearshift's point. The whole lot of them would have been thrown in the stockades, or worse... Flash Bang didn't want to think about it, but she didn't want to stop blaming Gearshift, either.

"I can see winning you over is going to take time," Gearshift said after a long moment of awkward silence. "And you still need to rest. Take it easy and just let everything I've told you sink in, okay? We'll talk more about it tomorrow." As he said this, he turned to the cave mouth.

"Where are you going?" Flash Bang demanded.

"Hunting," Gearshift replied. "I won't be long – this target's been hanging around here for some time now. And don't worry about Lockdown; he's as likely to bother you as an outbreak of rust on your wonderfully well kept armour."

With a half smile, he left.

* * *

><p><strong>*sarcastic whoo*<strong>

**Not sure about this chapter. It does what I wanted it to but _so little happens! _But at least we get some explanation about Gearshift.**

**Anyway, please review.**

**:D**


	6. Truth and Lies

**This chapter is quite exciting. Maybe not written to the best of my ability but I've been all over the place with general shiz this week so my apologies.**

**Enjoy!**

**:D**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Five: Truth and Lies<span>

Blurr was running down the streets at top speed, dodging this way and that past other Cybertronians, looking for one white one in particular. Other bots called out to him as he sped past, hoping to meet the famous speedster, but only Blurr's afterimages stopped for them.

He rounded corner after corner, optics flitting about the streets in search of that white armour belonging to Searchlight. He had no idea about the bot's day to day life, he could be anywhere! But he was going to need his help in rescuing Flash Bang.

Suddenly, Blurr was in the seedier part of Iacon, the part where Rattletrap could almost invariably be found. But he didn't stop, not until he heard what sounded like some poor bot getting a good old thrashing. Blurr hit the brakes and skidded to a halt just by a very narrow alley. The alley was dark, but there was just about enough light to make out to forms having a rather limited fight.

One small bot was pinned to the ground beneath a much larger one that was trying to manoeuvre himself to fire his blaster right through the pinned down one's cranial unit. Blurr didn't think twice about tackling the bigger bot, running right into him and sending him tumbling down the alley, blaster flying through the air. Blurr leapt up and grabbed it before helping the other bot to his support servos, at which point he finally saw how it was.

"Searchlight? I've been looking all over for you!" Blurr cried. "Flash Bang's been-"

"Not now, speedster," Searchlight snapped. "He's getting away!" Blurr turned to see the bot doing his best to run down the alley, which only got narrower to the point he became wedged. Searchlight dashed down and fastened stasis cuffs to his wrists, making him well and truly stuck. Once satisfied that the bot wasn't going anywhere, he turned to Blurr.

"What's that about Flash Bang?" he asked.

"She went to see Silverstar at the racetracks but then I don't know what happened but there was a fight between two Decepticons and one of them was Lockdown and now he's kidnapped Flash bang and then this Decepticon femme called Dark Spark appeared and told me that "the cot is in the canyon", or some slag like that, and I think she means the Sonic Canyons, so I'm preparing to head out that way but I don't think it'd be a good idea for me to go on my own, because, well, Decepticons tend to be quite hard to fight on your own and Lockdown is a _big _Decepticon, so I was wondering if you'd come with me? I know Flash Bang means a lot to you, and I heard what you said last night, by the way – I _am _lucky to have her, she's brilliant, she's wonderful, she's amazing but she's also in _trouble!"_

Searchlight just looked at the speedster blankly for a moment, trying to process what he'd just said. When it finally clicked, however, he was off and running.

"Come on then!" he yelled back to Blurr, who grinned slightly and shot off after him. They transformed and drove along at searchlight's top speed, tearing down the streets and roads until they found themselves in an area of Cybertron few ever visited. The Acid Wastes.

But they were being followed. In their eagerness to save the damsel in distress they hadn't thought they'd have any trouble, or nothing specific at least. But they were being trailed mercilessly, the slow speed Blurr was forced to go so Searchlight could keep up providing the best way for their stalker to stay close without being noticed.

Then again, watching for tails in the Acid Wastes generally wasn't a priority. Simply surviving in these badlands was a trial, due to the neutronic fallout contamination, semi-regular quakes and the weather, which included acid rain. As soon as Blurr and Searchlight zoomed into the Wastes, they found their systems sputtering and going haywire after being exposed to the environment. It was terrible! It was like being trapped in a room with a vat of slowly leaking radioactive material.

Blurr transformed into robot mode to try and make sense of what was going on, his processor blurting warning signs about absolutely everything. Searchlight quickly changed, too, and turned to Blurr.

"This is way too dangerous, Blurr!" he cried out. Not only was their radioactive waste playing with their systems, there was also tremendous wind blowing metal dust about. Blurr just shuttered his optics and ran, grabbing Searchlight and towing him along behind him. The smaller mech was surprised by the sudden speed, but eventually let his wheels spin freely as Blurr dragged him through the wasteland, gradually getting faster and faster as they went.

But Blurr couldn't keep going forever, his systems were all over the place and he felt his body slowly start to shut down for emergency stasis. He forced himself to stay online, pushing against the wild nature of the area and forcing himself to proceed. He'd save Flash Bang if it killed him.

Behind him, Searchlight was in a similar state, but he was a tough little mech. As he felt Blurr weaken, he powered on, beginning to run alongside Blurr as he slowed down, and eventually towing him as the speedster had done for him. They'd get through this, for Flash Bang.

The two mechs were concentrating so hard on what they were doing that they failed to realise it when they reached the edges of the acid Wastes, but relief fell on them quickly as they collapsed, exhausted but alive, into the foothills of the Sonic Canyons. They had no time to celebrate their victory against nature, however, as they both offlined from exhaustion.

"Blurr needs to hurry, or Wheelie's going to worry!" a shrill voice called out. Wheelie shook Blurr slightly as the larger mech began to come round, and held up an Energon cube for him to drink. "Blurr shouldn't have dashed off, supplies are useful when you have a cough." As if on cue, Blurr croaked out string of static before taking the Energon greedily.

"Wheelie?" he asked. "How the Pit did you find us? You should have been ripped to scraps out in the Acid Wastes!"

"Blurr may be fast, but Wheelie is tough, all those years on Zeotopia made me quite buff," Wheelie cited. Blurr chuckled slightly.

"Fair enough, what happened to Searchlight?" a quiet moaned to Blurr's left answered that. Wheelie took another cube of Energon and pressed it to Searchlight's lip modules.

"Blurr..." he began, "I'm never darting off into the wilderness with you again. Ever."

"What's the rush? Or must you to shush?" Wheelie asked. Blurr quickly explained the situation. "Then to her rescues we must go! Or freely Flash Bang's Energon may soon flow!"

"Wheelie!" Blurr hissed. "Don't say that!"

"Sorry," Wheelie said simply.

Searchlight forced himself up and looked about him, they were in a shallow cave in the Canyons. He stretched out and gave Wheelie his thanks for his help. Wheelie told him it wasn't a problem. Blurr walked to the mouth of the cave and looked out. They weren't far in, and the legendary noise was merely a slight din in the background. It would get worse, Blurr knew. He'd been there before on one of his missions.

"We need to move," Blurr said. "The faster we get moving the faster we get to Flash Bang."

"How can you be sure where she even is?" Searchlight questioned. Blurr turned to him, servo on his chest.

"I can feel her again."

* * *

><p>It must have been megacycles later when anything actually <em>happened. <em>Blurr, Searchlight and Wheelie drove through the Canyons, trying to block out the deafening noise without being unable to communicate between themselves. The terrain wasn't as dangerous as the acid Wastes, but it was still gruelling trying to navigate the Canyons. The cavernous mash of metal was deep, and one false step could send any of them tumbling to their doom.

Blurr led the way down. But no matter how far down they went, Flash Bang's presence in his spark never seemed to get stronger. It was as if something were disrupting the link between them, trying to keep them apart. But the faint link he felt was enough to keep him going down into the depths of the Canyons, despite the growing noise and the feeling they were being watched.

Soon, they found themselves on the edge of a small basin. Blurr could see that the canyon continued on the other side, and so made no second though as he slid down into the dip. Searchlight and Wheelie followed, slightly more cautions than Blurr but still eager to continue. Blurr sped over to the other side, using his momentum to scale the opposite edge. He didn't think to look back to his comrades to see if they needed help, he just carried on, his determination getting the better of him.

_BOOM!_

"Wheelie! Searchlight!" Blurr yelled out as the ground between him and them exploded. As the smoke cleared, Blurr saw that the opening to the canyon was completely blocked by busted metal. There was another _thud _behind Blurr, who spun around to see what it was. His optics widened when he saw.

"Hello, Blurr," Shockwave hissed. "Wasn't Dark Spark good to tip me off about your location?"

The cyclops rose his cannon and fired, but Blurr dodged and jumped him from behind, knocking him over with an "oof". Shockwave grabbed Blurr as he cart wheeled through that air, claws lacing around his support servo and swinging him into the canyon wall. Blurr felt everything get knocked out of him as he took the impact. Shockwave let go of Blurr and let him fall to the ground.

"You are a fool, Blurr," he mocked. "How could you ever have thought you'd have just dashed in here and got her out?" With an amused air to his words he added, "_Did _you ever think you could?"

Blurr wiped a small amount of Energon leaking from his mouth away before replying. "I never thought about whether I could or couldn't," he began. "I only thought that I _would."_

"How _noble _of you," Shockwave jeered. "Allow me to put your processor straight."

"Wait!" Blurr pleaded as shockwave readied his cannon.

"Not for long," the Decpeticon replied.

"Who is Dark Spark?" Blurr asked simply. Rather than curiosity, it was desperation to keep from being shot that made him ask. But it was enough to get Shockwave's interest.

"Don't you remember her?" the cycloptic Decepticon snickered. "Then allow me to enlighten you. We have a long mutual history that more recently developed into the two of us being... how should I say it? "Friends with privileges.""

Blurr's mouth dropped open in shock and disgust, but he shook it away as he stood up, slowly pacing to the side, Shockwave absent minded in mirroring him.

"That's disgusting," Blurr replied. "But who is she to _me? _She acted like I should have known her."

"And so you should," Shockwave murmured. "But we won't delve into that chapter right now, will we? You're already planning your escape."

Knowing his time was up, Blurr revved his engines, creating a dust cloud from the dirt beneath him that bloomed up and enveloped Shockwave, blinding him momentarily. In his distraction, Blurr made his escape, darting along the way he'd been going.

_Wheelie, Searchlight, are both you okay? _Blurr asked over his comlink. A united "yes" answered.

_Don't worry about us, _Searchlight replied. _We found a way around and are on top of the canyon wall. We'll meet you on the other side._

_Alright, _Blurr replied, continuing his run. Suddenly, a blast from Shockwave's cannon tore through the air, blasting the wall a little way ahead of Blurr. But the speedster refused to be caught between walls by Shockwave again, and sped up to his full speed and darted past the metal landslide heading to block his route. Blurr broke the sound barrier as he dashed past, zooming out into the next open area and along a thin metal bridge. On the other side, he saw Searchlight and Wheelie waving to him. As he finally reached his companions, Blurr skidded to a halt before them.

"What happened?" Searchlight demanded.

"Shockwave," Blurr replied. "He blasted the ground and cornered me, he even tried to trap me in that canyon, but he won't catch me again, I swear."

"And trust me when Wheelie says, we believe in your speedy ways," the orange mech replied.

"So, what now?" Searchlight prompted. Blurr concentrated on the feeling in his spark. Flash Bang was still a long way away, but they were getting ever closer, he was sure of it. He pointed on in the direction of the pull in his spark.

"That way," he said. Looking where he was pointing, he saw they were headed for an electrical storm. His shoulder sagged and he moaned loudly.

"Don't worry, Blurr," Searchlight comforted. "We'll wait the storm out in there." The white mech pointed at a rundown old building, a lab by the look of it. The three hurried inside as a bolt of electricity nearly hit Blurr – the tallest of the three and therefore the most likely to be hit.

The inside of the building was as dilapidated as the outside. It was messy and unkempt, and a lot of the equipment looked as if it had been broken on purpose. The only thing that still stood in one piece was a computer, though whether it still worked on not was debateable.

"What is this place?" Blurr mused.

"Probably one of the old Decepticon labs from the Great War," Searchlight mused. "Clearly whatever was experimented on here didn't enjoy it. Don't touch anything, guys."

But Wheelie was more curious than he was sensible, and was already poking at the computer. As soon as he'd pressed the first key, it came to life, and an image of Shockwave popped up, scaring the life out of Wheelie who stumbled back and fell over a thick cable behind him.

"Entry 0153," the image of Shockwave said. "The experiments I have been running on former Autobot Silverstar have been going as planned. Reformatting fellow bots to possess the ability to change not just into a vehicle, but another bot _is _possible, but will still take some refinement."

Suddenly, Blurr couldn't be more interested in what Shockwave had to say, and dashed over to the screen.

"The subject has been demonstrating erratic behaviour from time to time, and has broken much of my equipment, though nothing she has done is irreparable. It will take time for her to adjust to her new ability – if she ever does, but I am confident that what I have accomplished here will aid in the victory of the Decepticons. An army of bots capable of hiding amongst the Autobots, like I myself have done for stellar cycles, will surely be useful in bringing down our enemies from within. Dark Spark will be the first of these new bots, and surely in her wake a trail of devastation will follow. Shockwave out."

As Shockwave vanished from the screen, he was replaced by blueprints – Dark Spark's blueprints. Blurr's optics widened and he made sure to save what he saw to his hard drive – this information would surely prove useful if he had to face Dark Spark again.

"_Silverstar is Dark Spark?" _Blurr asked, aghast.

"And Shockwave is connected to her?" Searchlight mused. "Interesting."

"I managed to get it out of Shockwave that they were "friends with privileges"," Blurr explained, still confused over what he'd just heard.

"That's just wrong," Searchlight mumbled. Wheelie seemed unsure as to what the two older mechs meant. He was only a sparkling, really. But the little orange mech looked out of the window and saw that the storm was gone.

"Time to go, I hope so," he chanted. Blurr and Searchlight looked outside, too, and decided that it was indeed time to go.

Back out in the canyons, the three walked rather than drove, each thinking over what they had learnt. Blurr let the pull in his spark draw him on as he thought, not paying any attention as to where they were going or what was around them. Suddenly, the feeling of being watched was back, and he became tense, dropping his train of thought and taking to keeping an optic on the surroundings. Suddenly, something black charged him, knocking him to the ground.

"Get off him!" Searchlight roared as he tackled whatever had tackled Blurr. But Blurr's attacker was stronger, and kicked him away without a thought as they began to claw at Blurr's chest plate. Blurr looked up at who it was, and grunted in annoyance as he saw it was Dark Spark. He pulled an arm out from under her and elbowed her across the faceplate, sending her flying and allowing him to get up. Before she could move again, Blurr's chainsaw slid out and began whirring, hungry for a fight.

Dark Spark flipped over, and Blurr's mouth dropped open as he saw her spark, plainly obvious with her chamber wide open. The tainted spark glowed, hungry to fuse to Blurr's. Dark Spark leapt at the mech, but Blurr dodged to one side and sliced his chainsaw into her leg. She screamed in agony, and suddenly began running away.

"Well... that was random," Searchlight mused as the three of them watched her retreat. "Do we go after her or let her go?" Blurr looked down at the trail of Energon her wound was leaving behind.

"She'll be easy enough to track if needs be," he murmured. "And I don't know about you guys, but Flash bang is _my _main concern."

"Why try and bond with you, though?" Searchlight wondered. "She must know you're bonded. Trying to bond to you now could easily kill her."

"Wheelie did hear of a bonded three, but those spark did split into individuality," Wheelie told them.

"What I want to know is I can't remember Dark Spark, _or _Silverstar," Blurr mused "If the two are one and the same, and I had relations with Silverstar, then what am I to Dark Spark?"

"Maybe it's not that you _can't _remember, maybe it's that you don't _want _to remember," Wheelie suggested.

But none of them could put forth any sound theories.

* * *

><p><strong>So, the plot thickens for Blurr. Will he ever get everything straight in his processor?<strong>

**And I've just realised that this is riddled with mistakes, I'll go through it properly at some point and correct it all.**

**ironfire13, to answer your question, yes, this is set after the events of **_**Transformers Animated**_** season 3. If you read **_**Fragments, **_**everything will make a lot more sense.**

**Please review!**

**:D**


	7. In With the New

__**I am _so _sorry for not posting this yesterday - the document uploader was being weird. And not only that, but I've _just _come back from performing my final piece for Performing Arts at school ever.**

**I think at some point I may go back and give this chapter and the one before the once over. **

**Anyway, enjoy!**

**:D**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Six: In With the New<span>

"So," Gearshift began, unsure how to continue. He'd come back from his little "hunt" with an oil covered mod, which he gave to Lockdown. Nothing else suggested that he'd fought another bot.

"So what?" Flash Bang pressed, almost snarling. Her voice sounded oddly groggy, as if she'd caught a bug and was glitching.

"How is Mercury?"

Flash Bang was slightly surprised by the question. Was he actually interested? Or was he just trying to make Flash Bang believe in his story?

"She's… well enough," Flash Bang replied. "She started up her delivery business after you di- … left."

Gearshift smiled slightly. "Just as she'd always wanted. How's business for her?"

"Better now that her only creation is a famous dancer _and _the bondmate of the legendary racer, Blurr," Flash Bang quipped, a sly grin on her faceplate.

"You're _what?" _Gearshift demanded, stunned.

"A famous dancer and a bondmate," Flash Bang repeated. Static was plaguing her voice now. "I dance at The Circle- _HZzzT!_ -regularly, and I'm good friends with- _HZzzT! -_Rosanna."

"Well, of all bots you could have become involved with, it would be Mercury's favourite racer," Gearshift replied, smiling, but then he frowned. "Are you feeling okay? Your vocal processor's glitching like a bad line of code."

He really looked at her then. Flash Bang sat curled up on the berth, clutching her knees tightly. She didn't _look_ well, let alone _sound _well. Her optics were faint and there was a horrible static buzz emanating from her and the shine on her armour had dulled. Gearshift studied her, worried. Was this just her reaction to his story? Or had she caught a virus? Flash Bang rested her cranial unit against the wall, taking in long, deep intakes to try and settle her systems. Something was very wrong, and she really wanted to just go home.

"Gearshift...?" she croaked out – she sounded so sickly. The green mech came over to her and sat by her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"What's wrong, Flash?" he asked softly. Flash Bang rested her cranial unit against his shoulder and offlined her optics, snuggling up to him like she did before he'd been "killed". Gearshift fully expected her to say something, but mere clicks after resting against his shoulder, a static buzz came from her processor, indicating she'd fallen into recharge.

Taking the chance to examine her, Gearshift slowly shifted himself away and laid her back flat on the berth. Once she was settled, he gave her a quick once over, putting his limited medical knowledge to use. What he saw surprised him; her systems were all over the place! But she hadn't caught a virus and her injuries were repairing well. This struck him as odd, but then he saw that the panels making up her abdomen were lose, and when he took a closer look, he saw a dim glow emanating from beneath.

"Oh, Primus," he grunted. He knew _exactly _what was wrong with her.

"What's the matter with her?" Lockdown rumbled as he noticed Gearshift's shocked faceplate. The Autobot looked up at the bounty hunter.

"She's carrying a new spark," he answered, shocked out of his processor. "That _speedster's _got her sparking!"

"So, we'll wrangle up a makeshift delivery room," Lockdown suggested, more worried about the fact he had a sparking femme in his hideout than the fact that she was actually _sparking. _

"And put the spark in _what_ protoform?" Gearshift snapped. "Or do you just so happen to have a few spare ones lying around from the raid?"

That seemed to annoy the bounty hunter, who frowned, growled something rather distasteful and turned on his heel strut to storm back to his workbench. Gearshift just rolled his optics and turned his attention back to Flash Bang. The fact that she was sparking couldn't be the only thing putting her in such a state; sure, it took a heavy toll on bots, but never _this _heavy unless something _else_ was wrong.

"What's wrong with you, sweetspark?"he said to himself as he looked down at her. He gently rested a servo against her chest plate, but pulled it away with a pained yelp as he felt the surge of energy pulsing through it. Her spark was calling out for the one it was bonded to. She was calling out for Blurr.

_Of course, _he realised, _sparks long to be together when their sparkling is on the way._

But the Canyons were a tricky place. All the vibrations passing through the air as sound bounced from wall to wall easily disrupted any form of long distance communication. If Blurr was looking for Flash Bang, whish Gearshift was certain he would be, then he'd be finding it hard to locate her through their bond alone. Gearshift sighed as the only conclusion came to mind – he'd have to take her back to Iacon.

"Lockdown, I need the ship," he called out, scooping up Flash Bang and heading towards the mouth of the cave. "I need to take her ho-"

_BOOM!_

A huge explosion sent Gearshift flying backwards and Flash Bang tumbling through the air. But Gearshift regained his senses and leapt up to catch her quickly. Lockdown ran to the front of the cave, blaster and chainsaw at the ready. The mouth of the cave was completely enveloped in smoke and dust, and from it emerged Dark Spark.

"I would really rather like it if you two would be so kind as to hand over the femme," Dark Spark purred mockingly. "We have some unfinished business…"

Gearshift quickly but gently laid Flash Bang down on the berth once more and activated one of his own mods – generator pods that held fast to any surface and projected an impenetrable Energon shield. After making sure Flash Bang was safe, he charged into battle.

Dark Spark shot backwards out of the cave, guns blazing at the two mechs as they charged after her. She dodged and twirled out of the way with ease, but both mechs were trained ninjas, and kept on her tailpipe easily. Gearshift knew the best plan of attack would be for them to get on either side of her, so he flipped over the edge of the bridge to the landing platform, grabbing onto the bars beneath and climbing along the underside rapidly. Soon he was behind Dark Spark, and he flipped out from where he was to begin his attack once more.

Caught off guard, Dark Spark took several hits to her back, but her armour was tough and the most his attacks did was blast away tiny fractures of her plating. But she quickly spun around to face both mechs side on, raising one gun at each of them and opening fire. Lockdown retaliated quickly, powering up his homemade EMP generator and firing.

Dark Spark froze and fell to the ground, immobilised, as Lockdown advanced on her, chainsaw at the ready as he prepared to finish her. But just as he got to her, she leapt up, perfectly fine, and threw a smoke bomb right in his face.

"Your cheap tricks will never beat me," Dark Spark spat as smoke enveloped both mechs. Unseen to them, she transformed and sped off the edge of the bridge, down into the deepest pits of the Canyons. Gearshift revved his cooling fans, blowing the smoke away.

"EMP repellent armour," Lockdown mused. "Not seen that in a while. Her shell would make a good trophy..."

"That's hardly important right now," Gearshift snarled. "Get the ship ready, we're taking Flash Bang back to Iacon."

"Yeah, because storming in there with a missing Autobot's a good plan," Lockdown grumbled. "They see either of us and we're scrap."

Gearshift ignored him and walked into the cave to get Flash Bang. He knew Lockdown had a point, but his little charade would have to come to an end eventually – something he'd accepted a long time ago. But maybe it wouldn't be so bad? Surely he'd get to see Mercury one last time...

Then he noticed Flash Bang wasn't on the berth, or anywhere in the cave.

"What the frag? Flash Bang?" he called out. "Where the Pit have you gone?"

During the fight, Flash Bang had "woken up" (not that she'd fallen into recharge to begin with, really), and snuck out of the cave, pulling a similar move to Gearshift and climbing along the underside of the bridge. Gearshift had taught her his ninja tricks when she was still a little sparkling, and she had practised and practiced solar cycle after solar cycle, alongside the dancing Mercury had made her do.

But carrying a new spark was making her weak – _that _hadn't been a show. Every movement was a tremendous effort and her grip slipped slightly from time to time. She didn't ever let go completely, however, and powered on as best she could.

The landing platform at the other end of the bridge was seated atop a high spire of metal, which was laden with footholds and ledges perfect for climbing. She clambered from beneath the bridge to around the other side of the platform, swinging from place to place with skill. But then, she found herself stuck. The next best place to grab onto was just beyond her reach, but she tried to lean for it anyway. Bad idea, the strain on her pistons sent an agonising flash of pain through her body. In agony, she gasped and let go.

"_Slag!" _she screamed as she began to fall. But she just about managed to wedge her support servo into a crevasse, stopping her from falling but causing her to slam backwards into the metal. Pain shot through her back, sending her systems into shock as they tried to protect the developing spark. Her systems shut down one by one, all her energy rerouting to keep what the spark needed to survive going, and before she knew it, she was close to being offline.

But just before she finally blacked out, a dark shape moved above her and a wicked pair of red optics stared down at her. An evil chuckle was the last thing she heard.

"Well, look what has fallen into my servos," Dark Spark hissed. "Maybe today was not as total a failure as I had previously thought..."

* * *

><p>"<em>Flash Bang?" <em>Gearshift yelled out for the hundredth time. How on Cybertron had she slipped away? She couldn't really have fallen into recharge, though if that were true, it was safe to say she was talented at this concept Lockdown had told him all about called "playing possum", whatever that meant. But Gearshift was more concerned with the location of Flash Bang.

"She's just as rebellious as she was as a sparkling," Gearshift moaned. "But she seems _far _more irresponsible than I recall."

"Can't imagine where she got any of that from," Lockdown mumbled. Gearshift ignored him and continued to walk along the ridge he had clambered to in order to get a good view of the surrounding area, calling out as he walked. The Canyons were entirely grey, so Gearshift had thought it would have been easy to locate a small spot of red slowly making her way out of the noisy maze. He'd been wrong, however. But then his optics were drawn to three other moving dots of colour – blue, white and orange.

Gearshift used his optical zoom to get a better look at the three. There was one large sports car, a tiny orange car, and a medium sized white car with huge, powerful headlights. They were driving along quickly, seemingly determined to get to somewhere. Gearshift searched his memory banks to see if he knew the three, the white one seemed familiar, but the only one he could find for certain was the blue.

It was Blurr.

Gearshift leapt from the ledge and down to the next, repeating the process until he landed safely in front of the three. The white bot was the first to transform and, unlike the others who stayed were they were and looked on at Gearshift, he charged right over and stuck a digit in his faceplate.

"_You?" _he demanded. "You're _alive?"_

"I thought I recognised you," Gearshift replied, uninterested. "What's your name again? Flashlight?"

"_Search_light," Searchlight spat. "What the Pit are you doing out here? You're supposed to be _dead!"_

"Flash Bang gave me much the same reaction," Gearshift replied tersely. He had a clearer memory of this mech now, and he remembered being suspicious of him.

"Flash Bang was here?" the blue mech demanded, speeding over to be right in Gearshift's face. "Where is she? Is she okay? How did she get away from Lockdown? And who are you?"

"That's Gearshift," Searchlight replied. Blurr gasped in shock. Pretty much the only thing he knew about the green mech was that he was, supposedly, dead.

"And she didn't get away from me," Lockdown grumbled, dropping down from above. "At least, not at the point ya referring to." Blurr gave a startled yelp and readied his chainsaw. Lockdown levelled his EMP generator at him in response. Gearshift sighed and waved his comrade off.

"Leave them be, Lockdown," he insisted. "They're only here because of Flash."

"You're _friends_ with him?" Searchlight raged. "What the Pit is going on?"

"I'm not going over it all again," Gearshift retorted. "Flash Bang's the most important thing right now."

"Absolutely, but where is she? Is she safe? Dark Spark didn't hurt her, did she?" Blurr questioned. He was becoming erratic.

"Dark Spark hurt her somewhat, but she healed up quickly," Gearshift replied. "As for where she is and whether she's safe... well, that's a whole different story."

Gearshift quickly explained the situation, but Blurr only grew more and more erratic in his responses, demanding more information than Gearshift could give.

"She _ran away, _Blurr, that's all we know," Gearshift persisted. "The best we can do is set out to look for her."

"Oh, I would not say that is exactly necessary," a female voice called out from high above. The five mechs all looked up to see Dark Spark perched on a ledge above them. "She's perfectly safe, though she seems a little down. Maybe I ought to take her precious speedster back with me to see her?"

Blurr began to move forward to accept her "offer", but found four pairs of servos holding him back.

"Where is she?" he called out instead, revving his engines to try and break free, though all in vain. Dark Spark chuckled at the display and walked precariously across the ledge, balancing on the very edge with perfection like a tightrope walker.

"She is here in the Canyons," she replied, not giving anything away. "I will let her go if you come back in her place, Blurr."

"Yes, fine, whatever, just let her _go!" _Blurr demanded, giving his engines a final rev. But the four held fast to his body, and would not let him speed off towards the femme.

"No deal, Dark Spark," Gearshift snarled. "We're going to rescue Flash Bang, _without _making any deals. Like any of us would truly trust you."

"Blurr seems to," she replied pointedly.

"Blurr is really very desperate, and his processor doesn't work right at such a rate," Wheelie replied.

"Oh, _thanks, _Wheelie," Blurr spat at his orange friend.

"Get out of here, Dark Spark," Gearshift growled. "Even you can't take all five of us on."

"You may be right," she replied. She turned and darted back up the canyon wall, leaping over the edge and vanishing from view. The mechs all let go of Blurr then, who turned and began raging at them.

"Why didn't you let me go? She was going to hand over Flash Bang and you all just kept me held back! We could have had her!"

"But then she would have had _you," _Gearshift told him. "And I can see this going in a vicious circle of you both sacrificing yourself to save the other." He turned to Lockdown. "Any ideas?" The huge mech chuckled.

"Well, there's one mod I've been wanting to try out for some time," he replied. "The speedster's got the proper build for it, too..."

* * *

><p><strong>ZOMG, what's Lockdown gonna do?<strong>

**You'll have to wait a week to find out! :P**

**And _bwaaaaaaah, _Performing Arts is over :(**

**Please review!**

**:D**


	8. Out With the Old

**I don't really have much to say today, other than I ONLY HAVE TWO WEEKS LEFT AT SCHOOL EVER AND THEN IT'S OUT INTO THE WORLD FOR ME!**

**Yeah, I'm scared.**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

**:D**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 7: Out With the Old<span>

"You can't do this! I have to save Flash Bang! If Dark Spark will take me to her we could easily escape and run back here! It'd be easy, honestly. _Why won't you let me go?"_

"Because, Blurr," Searchlight began, "from what we can deduce, Dark Spark is working _very _closely with Shockwave. And for _you _that's some pretty bad news."

"I stabbed the slagger once, this time I won't miss his spark," Blurr replied. "He'll be dead at my support servos before he can blink that one red optic."

"Not if Dark Spark takes you to him," Gearshift retorted. "Don't you think they'd be prepared for an escape attempt?"

"So what? I don't care if they get _me! _All I'm worried about is Flash Bang!"

"Do you _honestly _think they'll release her if you hand yourself over?" Gearshift raged. "Don't be so stupid, Blurr. They'll tear her spark out in front of you then do the same to you." For some reason, Gearshift thought it better not to mention that Flash Bang was sparking.

But Blurr wasn't having it. He was too frustrated at himself for not remembering Dark Spark to think things through properly, and that coupled with his desperation to find Flash Bang just made him erratic beyond measure. For a moment, he acted as if regaining his composure, and when everyone had relaxed a little, he made a dash for the mouth of the cave.

"Stop him!" Gearshift bellowed. Lockdown's EMP generator came out and fired at the speeding blue streak. Somehow, he actually managed to hit him, and Blurr went tumbling to the floor, paralyzed.

"Look, speedster," he grumbled, pulling him up off the floor by the back of his neck. "You can either run off and get yerself and yer precious little femme blasted to bits, _or _ya can stay here and let me fix ya up with some improved gear."

"Fine," Blurr moaned, allowing himself to be pulled from the ground and back to his support servos.

"I want something in return for this," Lockdown grumbled to Blurr, who was stood with his arms folded, frowning darkly at the bounty hunter. Lockdown had turned and was clicking through files on his computer, looking for one in particular.

"Before I agree to anything I want to know what "this" is," Blurr retorted.

"An upgrade," Lockdown said simply.

"Yes, yes, I getthat, but _what _are you going to do to me?" Lockdown extended his hook to Blurr's chest plate and, quick as a flash, gouged a lengthy scratch into the polished surface. _"What the Pit are you doing?"_

"Making a point," Lockdown said, shaking his hook meaningfully. "Yer armour's built to work with yer speedy frame. It's light and _weak. _I can give ya something just as light but far tougher."

"And why would you?" Blurr demanded. Lockdown gestured vaguely at Gearshift.

"Obligation," he mumbled. Blurr's frown intensified as he tried to rub away the scratch.

Lockdown continued to look for the right file on his computer, and eventually he loaded up a series of blueprints. Blurr was a little dubious of what he saw, as whatever the larger mech had planned involved not just replacement armour, but also a complete rebuild of the pistons in his legs. He wasn't planning to completely overhaul Blurr's systems, too, was he?

But then Lockdown turned back to Blurr. "I want a copy of your schematics."

"What? Why?" Blurr demanded.

"Partly so I can configure the upgrade, mostly 'cause yer legendary speed is something I'm fascinated by," Lockdown replied, the hint of a sneer on his faceplate.

_Not that it'd work if you tried to implement it into your own systems, _Blurr thought. But, nevertheless, if this was going to help save Flash Bang, he'd do it. He stepped over to the computer and linked himself to it, a thin cable dropping out from under his helm that he connected into a port by the keyboard. He initiated the data transfer and copied the data to the computer. The others behind him watched on as Blurr's schematics popped up on the screen, and they were all amazed by just how complex his build was. The sheer amount of detail to him – the powerful cooling fans, the intricate web of wires, the rapid action Energon pumps in his engine – it was clear he'd been designed for speed. Lockdown looked on, a slight excited glow to his optics. This would be fun.

"There you go," Blurr said as he finished transferring the data. "Now, you may as well get on with it before I change my mind."

Lockdown pressed a few more buttons and soon a medical berth was illuminated a little further into the cave. Lockdown gestured at it and instructed Blurr to remove his armour and lay on it. Blurr did so, albeit hesitantly, the pieces of his armour dropping to the ground with a _thud, thud, thud_. Wheelie seemed a little worried about his friend, but Searchlight and Gearshift watched with mild curiosity. Gearshift frowned slightly as Blurr settled into place on the berth, he didn't know what Lockdown was planning, but was more interested in why it'd been so easy to get his help. Either way, as long as Flash Bang was saved in the end, he didn't really care.

Blurr laid back on the berth and tried to relax. He wasn't sure how this was going to go down, but he kept his processor focused on Flash Bang. If she was in danger, he'd do whatever it took to save her. Lockdown came over to the berth, tools poking out at all angles from where his detachable hook usually was. There was a faint _click _and suddenly Blurr was being held firmly in place with cuffs around his arms and legs. The speedster tensed, surprised, but Lockdown merely chuckled.

"No need fer ya ter panic, speedster," he told Blurr. "That's fer yer good as much as mine."

Once again, Blurr tried to relax, but he just couldn't help but feel that the whole situation was awfully wrong. Still, he remained still as Lockdown began to pry open his shell and dig about inside, taking a few bits out and taking new parts from various containers littering the area and installing them into his already complex circuits. Blurr twitched and winced as he felt bits and pieces being pulled out of him and yelped as Lockdown tugged a little too hard on a sensory node.

"I'm gonna need ter put ya in stasis fer the rest o' this," Lockdown warned. Obediently, Blurr powered himself down.

Lockdown continued his work, taking his time. Wheelie seemed to be growing more and more on edge as he saw the bounty hunter take apart his friend, but when he did lurch forwards, Gearshift clamped a servo on his shoulder, holding him back.

"This is going to take a while," Gearshift mumbled. "There are better ways the three of us could be spending our time, like formulating a battle plan."

"We don't even know _where _they are," Searchlight pointed out. Gearshift led both him and Wheelie to the cave mouth.

"True, and it's hard to locate anything in this place," Gearshift replied. "All the disturbance in the air disrupts energy signatures and comlinks like nothing else you've ever seen. Forget signal dampeners, just hide out here."

"Which is pretty much what you and Lockdown have been doing?" Searchlight demanded. Gearshift ignored him.

"They're likely not far from here, I'm sure Dark Spark would want to keep tabs on Blurr," Gearshift replied.

"I wonder if Shockwave is with her? Since Blurr said he was tipped off by her..." Wheelie mused.

"Shockwave? You mentioned him earlier, but what has he got to do with Dark Spark?" Gearshift asked.

"He reformatted her to give her the ability to change from Decepticon to Autobot, like he can," searchlight answered. "And from what we've been told, they're a little more than just _friends."_

Gearshift grimaced at the thought. "Delightful," he said sarcastically. "Have you seen him around here?"

"Yes," Searchlight began, "he tried to divide us from Blurr so he could attack him, but Blurr escaped him and we rejoined him further on. We haven't seen him since."

Meanwhile, Lockdown was almost finished reformatting Blurr. He was poking about in Blurr enormous boots, taking out the pistons and fine tuning them, adding new parts to them as dictated by the blueprints, giving them added force. Once finished, he closed up the panels on Blurr and turned away from the bot. He needed to stay in stasis for a while to allow the upgrades time to boot themselves properly. In the meantime, he began work on the armour.

Blurr armour was designed, like Lockdown had said, to be light in order to allow for optimum speed. This, however, meant it was quite weak, as Blurr hadn't been designed with heavy combat in mind. It was why it only took a couple of hits to put him offline during his battle with Shockwave onboard Omega Supreme way back when.

Lockdown picked up the discarded armour, giving each piece the once over before setting it aside on his workbench and firing up the forge next to it. He took a large lump of raw ore from a compartment in the workbench and dropped in a cup. Using a pair of tongs, he held this over the fire until it melted into a searing hot liquid.

Quickly, before it cooled, he spread this over Blurr's armour evenly and let it set. For a while it glowed brightly as it retained its heat, but as it cooled, it faded from the blinding orange to pure black, covering every inch of Blurr's classic blue colour. Layer after layer of the liquid metal he painted on, letting it cool before adding another coat. Eventually the black metal was layered on thick, so he set it down and continued onto the next piece. Before long, every piece of armour was dull black in colour.

Satisfied with what he'd done, Lockdown buffed and polished the armour until it shone as brilliantly as it had done before. The entire set of armour was now a shiny black, save for Blurr's famed fin. With a smirk somewhere between cruel and cheeky, Lockdown painted it dark grey to match the rest of the armour.

"How long till he's _done _in there? Searchlight to go in, I dare," Wheelie rhymed.

"_No _way," Searchlight replied. "If _you _want to know what's happening, _you _can go look."

Gearshift rolled his optics at the two shorter bots and strolled inside himself. The three had taken to sunning themselves in the dusty outside as the waited. Wheelie had enjoyed the sun, but he hadn't been able to keep himself calm at all, he was so worried about what a bounty hunter famed for _stealing_ mods would do to his friend who was famed for his _spectacularly speedy_ mods.

Gearshift didn't go far into the cave before grinning slightly and turning to head back out, followed by two dark armoured bots.

"Allow me to introduce the new, and _improved, _Blurr," Gearshift announced, stepping aside so the two shorter Autobots could see.

Out into the light of the car stepped Lockdown, followed, hesitantly, by Blurr. Wheelie and Searchlight stood gobsmacked at what they saw. Not in inch of blue, but black, black and more black, topped off with grey detail here and there – the only things retaining their original blue colours where his headlights and optics, which blazed out brilliantly against the rest of his body. His faceplate, too, had been re-coloured, and now was the faintest shade of blue, a hardly noticeable change.

It wasn't just his appearance that had changed; there was an almost unnoticeable change to his movement. When he walked, he limped ever so slightly, an after effect of the improvements to his pistons, though Blurr's companions didn't know this yet.

Wheelie stood with his jaw hanging open. "What did he _do to you?" _he cried, too stunned to make a rhyme. Blurr forced a grin onto his faceplate.

"Not sure yet," he said, his voice slow and groggy from the shut down. Lockdown prodded him in the back and gestured for him to move into the open space of the ledge. Gearshift and the others in turn moved closer to the cave. Blurr walked out a little way along the bridge

"What am I supposed to be doing?" Blurr demanded.

"Jump," Lockdown commanded. "High as ya can."

Slightly confused, Blurr bent at the knees, feeling the pistons working away in his support servos. There was a tremendous whirring noise coming from Blurr's support servos as the pistons spun round and round, until they could do so no more. At this point, there was a nearly inaudible _click, _and Blurr found himself soaring through the air.

"What the slag?" Blurr yelled out as he went higher and higher into the sky. Below him, he heard a yelp, and he dared to look down, only to see a whirring vortex below him that Wheelie was very nearly sucked into. He only stayed where he was thanks to Searchlight clinging onto him to keep him on the ground. The vortex had pulled up all the metal dust in the immediate area into itself, and was thick grey with it. Where Blurr had jumped from, the ground was dented as if something incredibly heavy had fallen onto it.

Blurr was amazed, and terrified, too. He wasn't particularly used to heights, enjoying having his support servos flat on the ground at all times. But the _power _he felt in his legs was astounding! He felt like he could tear up entire buildings by jumping from them, and to be honest, he probably could.

Blurr flipped in midair, for good measure more than anything else, and began to descend, careening through the air until he landed on his support servos back on the bridge. Stunned, he stood up straight before turning to look at his companions.

"What... was _that?" _he demanded of Lockdown, who smirked before answering.

"I call it the "vortex upgrade," he replied. "And you're the test subject for it."

* * *

><p><strong>Well, I managed to bring in the unreleased Vortex Blurr, pretty proud of myself :P<strong>

**Things are still a little confused between the lot of them but I'm sure everyone will have the full story soooooooon!**

**Awesomeness - thank you for your concern :) I always get such a grin on my face when I get your comments!**

**Please review!**

**:D**


	9. Delivering the Goods

**I seem unable to write this story without playing video games at the same time. Or, alternatively, being a cowboy on **_**Red Dead Redemption**_** is just too much fun...**

**Damn bears killing my horses...**

**Aaaanyway, enjoy!**

**:D**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Eight: Delivering the Goods<span>

Flash Bang gasped as she came back online, her systems going haywire as she began panicking badly. She wanted to squirm about and look around, but she was completely frozen. The reason why become obvious when her optics flickered downwards and focused on the glowing pair of stasis cuffs around her wrists. Flash Bang offlined her optics and tried to focus inwards, calming her systems and making sure things were as they should be.

Something was wrong though; the stasis cuffs weren't allowing enough of her energy to be redirected to the new spark in her abdomen. It was growing weaker by the nanoclik. As she realised this, a single lubricant tear fell from Flash Bang's optic. What if she didn't get out? The spark would die... and Blurr didn't even know there was one...

Suddenly she heard someone chuckle darkly. "So sad to have been torn from your loving mech creator's arms?" Shockwave taunted, stepping into the light. "Or is it the concern for you precious speedster that draws lubricant from your optics?"

Flash Bang glowered, not at Shockwave, seeing as he wasn't in her line of sight and she couldn't angle herself to face him, but at the ground she was laying on. "What do you care?"

"Oh, I _don't,"_ Shockwave replied. "I just find it entertaining to watch you suffer."

"How chivalrous of you," Flash Bang hissed. "Although I don't suppose such a thing is in your programming."

Shockwave laced his claws around the stasis cuffs, hoisting Flash Bang from the floor so her support servos dangled freely above the ground. He looked her right in the optic, and despite the lack of a brow or even an optic ridge, Flash Bang could tell he was glaring at her.

"Such things surely don't bother you in such a situation?" Shockwave demanded. "Or did Blurr pick a mate as incompetent as himself?"

"Don't you _dare _talk about him like that!" Flash Bang yelled as loud as her weakening systems would allow. "When he catches up to you he'll pluck out your optic and tear the rest of you to shreds!"

"I have no intention of being beaten by Blurr," Shockwave purred. "He may be a new model but his armour is incredibly weak, and I've upgraded my weapons since our last confrontation. He'll be more than easy to dispatch."

Flash Bang's cooling fans suddenly kicked in, for what Shockwave assumed was no reason. But then he noticed the plating on her abdomen, how it was slightly raised with a soft glow emanating from between the plates.

"Now this is interesting..." he purred, settling Flash Bang back on the ground and forcing her to lie down. He gently caressed her abdomen, examining the raised plates. Flash Bang wanted to wriggle away from him, but she couldn't. "Seems Like Blurr left you with a souvenir."

"Speaking of Blurr," a chilling, female voice called out, "I think our guest's little friends are on their way here." Dark Spark stepped into view, and Flash Bang automatically frowned at her.

* * *

><p>"One last thing before we go, Blurr," Gearshift said, taking something from a nearby shelf. "Here."<p>

He tossed something long and thin over to Blurr – a sheathed sword. Slightly confused, the black armoured speedster drew the blade from its cover. A glowing blue katana slid from the scabbard, lighting the space around it with a soft blue light.

"It's the katana I trained with when I was a student of Master Yoketron," he explained. "Finest blade I ever wielded. Can you use it?"

Blurr pulled off a few rapid moves, demonstrating the fact he'd used swords before. "Not quite the style of blade I'm used to, but I'm sure I can handle it. Thank you."

"I want it back," Gearshift replied with a winked.

Blurr couldn't be certain why, but suddenly he felt a little more confidant. Five of them against two Decepticons. Sure, one of them was Megatron's top lieutenant when the Decepticon leader had been free, but surely the lot of them could take him on and win.

"So where do we start looking?" Searchlight demanded.

"Good question," Gearshift said. "Lockdown, do you still have that old tracker you used to use all the time?"

"The one that focused on Decepticon signatures?" Lockdown replied. "Think I know where it is..."

Lockdown turned and began rifling through the compartments lining the walls. He tossed things haphazardly over his shoulder, which the watching bots dodged lamely. All the while, Gearshift was staring at his friend's back with a frown. Why was he being so compliant? Just because he'd promised to watch over Flash Bang, it didn't mean he'd agreed to help in a case like this...

After a while, Lockdown found what he was looking for, and tossed it over to Gearshift.

"Guess I'll leave yall to it," Lockdown grumbled. "Ya got what ya need now, that's it from me."

"_What?" _Blurr demanded. "You're not going to _help_ us? You just put me through an _agonising _upgrade to just turn your back and storm off? And what about your vow to watch over Flash Bang? What about _"obligation"?"_

"The deal was I'd watch over Flash Bang when Gearshift couldn't," Lockdown retorted, calmly. "Everythin' else t'day has been in return fer various other favours I owe 'im." Blurr just stared at Lockdown, completely aghast. Everyone else was much the same, save Gearshift.

"I knew this wouldn't last. Thanks for the stuff, though," Gearshift said, sounding as if it were just a regular occurrence. "Come on, everyone, Flash Bang's our main priority."

Blurr gave one last glower at Lockdown's back before latching the sword onto his back and turning to leave. He'd see to the bounty hunter later if he felt the need, but Gearshift was right, Flash Bang was the main priority now.

Gearshift stood outside with the box like tracking device Lockdown had handed him. He held it out and powered it up, the screen glowing green and showing a pair of red arrows pointing to the north east.

"Got them," Gearshift murmured. "Let's go."

The four Autobots transformed and followed Gearshift as he led the way according to the tracker. Blurr's processor was a whirl of thoughts – what would Flash Bang think of him now? Was she even _okay_? How had Dark Spark and, assumedly, Shockwave treated her? Blurr felt his new pistons whirring erratically as he grew impatient and he had to work to keep them under control, unsure of what effect they'd have on him in vehicle mode.

Searchlight and Wheelie flanked Blurr, as if conscious of the fact that his new systems could send him zooming off uncontrollably at any time. Blurr was thankful that he had the two of them with him. He may have survived his last encounter with Shockwave, but it had... scarred him to some extent. It was much the same now as it was then, Flash Bang was in Shockwave's clutches and Blurr had no idea what he was doing to her. They'd been lucky last time; it was simply a trap, which Blurr supposed it was this time, too. But if Dark Spark was luring Blurr to their lair for herself, then what would they do with Flash Bang if and when they got him? Blurr avoided thinking of it, pushing it from his processor as the four sped onwards. The less he thought of it, the less painful it was.

It was a megacycle later when they arrived. As they passed through a long, dusty tunnel, the red arrows had turned to red dots and blinked more and more rapidly the closer to the end of the tunnel they got. Before long, they were virtually on top of them. Gearshift transformed and looked around him, they were in a huge basin littered with caves along its walls. According to the tracker, the two Decepticons were in any one of the caves directly opposite the tunnel they'd entered through, though _which_ one wasn't obvious. Blurr, Wheelie and Searchlight stopped behind Gearshift and reverted to robot mode.

"Can you tell where they are?" Searchlight asked.

"It's hard to make out exactly," Gearshift admitted. "This isn't the most high-tech of trackers."

Blurr grumbled something no one heard and sped off into the nearest cave, only to come flying out of another before much time had passed. He tried another, and another, going round and round in circles until he'd tried every cave. Frustrated, Blurr stamped a support servo on the ground, only to be rocketed into the air. The others watched him soar with some mild amusement, and Wheelie couldn't contain the laughter when Blurr fell back to the ground with a thump.

"Blurr's clumsy acting suggests he may need practising!" the little orange bot squeaked. Blurr frowned at the little bot.

"Not the best time, really, Wheelie," he hissed. Wheelie just grinned innocently, and glanced around them. It was then he noticed something peculiar amongst the caves higher up. Carved into the metal was what looked to be a series of bot-made footholds, leading from one of the highest caves into thick clouds of pollution that hovered over the basin. Blurr and the others followed his gaze.

"Looks like that may be our way up," Gearshift announced. "Though I'm not certain I'd like to fight them in their territory."

"So we call them out," Searchlight said with a shrug, putting his servos to his mouth. "Hey, Dark Spark! We got a present for you!"

For a while, there was nothing but silence. The four mechs strained their audio sensors to hear anything over the ever present din generated in the Canyons, but nothing out of the ordinary could be heard. What felt like megacycles passed, but then a soft chuckle came from above.

"Finally come to give yourself up, Blurr?" Shockwave's voice purred. "Dark Spark's been getting awfully lonely." There was a moment of silence as Shockwave leapt from the cave he had been concealed within and dropped to the ground before the four Autobots. Blurr couldn't help but believe small smirk would have been playing on Shockwave's lip modules, had he had any.

"I don't give a damn about Dark Spark," Blurr hissed. "Where is Flash Bang?"

As if on cue, Dark Spark descended into view, carrying something large and red. Flash Bang was cradled in her black armoured arms, stasis cuffs preventing her from moving. Gearshift's optics widened, she looked even worse than when he'd last seen her! But that wasn't his only concern.

"Get those stasis cuffs off her!" he yelled. "You'll kill the new spark!"

Everything seemed to crash then. Blurr stood stock still as he tried to process what Gearshift had said into anything other than the obvious meaning. Flash Bang couldn't be sparking! They hadn't done any of... _that... _in ages! Though, maybe this was the reason? Maybe they hadn't been spending as much time alone in the recharge room recently because Flash Bang hadn't been... "up to it"? If that were the case, it would probably mean she was about ready to deliver...

Then it hit him that Gearshift clearly knew.

"Why didn't you tell me? Didn't you think I had a right to know? She's _my _bondmate, after all! What were you doing not telling me?"

"I was under the assumption that you already knew, and Flash Bang didn't exactly say it out loud to me," Gearshift retorted. "I took a close look at her when she was offline and _saw _it for myself. Maybe if you paid more attention to the little things, you'd have noticed."

"Are you saying I'm inattentive to her? Not like _you _have! Or am I just not to your liking, sir? I didn't realise you were one of those bots that demands to measure up suitors for their creations!"

"Um, probably not the best time for it, guys," Searchlight said. He cast a quick glance around him to get help from Wheelie, who'd vanished. "Where the Pit did short stuff go?"

Watching with some amusement at the bickering bots, Dark Spark glanced over at Shockwave.

"Do you want the first shot?" she offered. "I better get prissy here out of the way."

"I thought you'd never ask, my dear," Shockwave replied, raising his cannon. Gearshift and Blurr were still engaged in a heated argument, and it was only Searchlight who noticed the cannon.

"_GET DOWN!"_

* * *

><p><strong>So Blurr's finally discovered what's going on with Flash Bang, but there is still the mystery of why he can't remember Dark SparkSilverstar. But, for now, let's hope our heroes get out of this sticky situation alive!**

**Please review!**

**:D**


	10. A Final Showdown

**Well, school's over and done with forever. **

**:|**

**Aaanyway, this chapter is a bit short, but it serves its purpose.**

**I'm sure I've said that before...**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

**:D**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Nine: A Final Showdown<span>

The ground rocked as Blurr, Wheelie and Gearshift were blown backwards, but a minute twitch of his legs had Blurr's support servos flat against the wall behind him. A moment later, he was rocketing forwards, right at the two Decepticons before him. He withdrew Gearshift's katana in a blindingly quick movement, slashing at the two 'Cons. Caught off guard, they both took the hit and were thrown backwards, a slight amount of Energon spurting out of the shallow wounds. Blurr's next thought was to head for Flash Bang, but Dark Spark was already there, dragging the smaller femme out of the way. Blurr frowned slightly.

"I am not sure about your new look, Blurr," Dark Spark quipped. Blurr ignored her as his frown deepened.

"Why get Flash Bang out of the way when you could just finish her?" Blurr demanded, not that he wanted to see it happen.

A cruel smirk played on Dark Spark's faceplate. "Because it will be far more fun to make her watch you suffer as I kill you."

"But _why? _Why do you want so badly to punish me? What in Primus' name did I do to you?" Blurr yelled. Behind him, Gearshift was locked in battle with Shockwave, and Searchlight was heading towards a better vantage point to get in a high attack.

"I suppose you should know, seeing as you are about to die," she began, "It is because, Blurr, you did not just _forget_ me, you did it on _purpose_." The was a loud yell of shock behind Blurr as Searchlight leapt on Shockwave's cranial unit, knocking him over, whilst pulling out his energy short sword. "When you broke my spark all those stellar cycles ago, I was left devastated. My processor was left in tatters, and so what did I do? I became a Decepticon, and I am sure you know what Decepticons do."

"Kill, _ruthlessly," _Blurr snapped. Dark Spark barked out a laugh.

"Indeed," Dark Spark replied. "But the Autobots I killed were all connected – to _you. _Each and every one of them was a femme you had been with after me, every one I saw as an insult to my _good _self. But then you became an Autobot intelligence agent and appeared to have matured greatly. I took after you, searching for you on one of your missions that led you by my territory. You recognised me instantly, and the murders suddenly made sense to you. But our encounter wasn't what I'd expected, and I fled. The building I ran to was bombed almost as soon as I entered it and Shockwave found me barely alive megacycles later." Dark Spark paused and offlined her optics for a moment. "I suppose you assumed me dead, and as soon as you returned to Autobot Intel, you had every memory of me erased… permanently."

Though the memories didn't flow back to Blurr as they had done many times before, his thoughts concerning Dark Spark suddenly became clearer. She was more in perspective now, but it was too late for him to really care.

"Blurr!" Searchlight yelled out. Blurr spun on his heel strut and saw Gearshift laid out on the floor, offline. Searchlight was visibly worried about the situation, panicking as he backed away from Shockwave. He was used to fighting bigger bots, but Shockwave's blank face did something to the spark that could freeze even the most heroic bots.

Blurr was thinking quickly, dashing towards Dark Spark and leaping up to put his support servos against her chest plate. He pushed upwards, throwing Dark Spark backwards, skidding across the basin floor and into a cave behind her, Flash Bang still held tightly in her claws and flying along with her. Katana in servo, Blurr twirled in the air so his fall put power behind the blade. Below him, Searchlight was looking to escape Shockwave to see if he could help Flash Bang, which he managed to do as Blurr yelled out to Shockwave, distracting him.

"Leave him alone!" Blurr yelled as he fell. The Decepticon looked up just in time to see Blurr and react. He dodged slightly to one side, sending Blurr diving into the ground beside him. The blade sunk deep into the metal ground, but Blurr's strengthened body allowed him to pull it free with ease. Oil dripped from the blade and leaked out of the wounded ground. But Blurr hadn't expected the blade to come free so easily, and had put more force than necessary into the pull. The excess force sent his new pistons going and had him shooting into the air again.

"Oh, by the Pit!" Blurr roared as he flew. Shockwave watched him go with mild amusement, but raised his canon and took great care with his aiming as the speedster began his descent.

_BOOM!_

"_SLAG IT!" _Blurr roared as he felt one of his support servos take the shot. He looked over at the limb and saw that, whereas no long lasting damage had been done, it was still going to be painful to walk on. Falling back down, he looked at Dark Spark and Searchlight. Searchlight was between Dark Spark and Flash Bang, and seemed to have a better chance facing the femme Decepticon than he did Shockwave.

Blurr landed, but the pain was worse than he'd expected. His leg buckled and he fell to one knee as pain shot through his entire leg. Bracing himself, he pushed upwards onto the limb – it hurt, but he could manage. Blurr had landed with some distance between him and Shockwave, but the big 'Con was advancing on him already. Blurr raised the katana at Shockwave, preparing to strike. But Shockwave had his cannon powered up already, and Blurr was forced to once more leap into the air to avoid it. This time, however, Shockwave was close enough to him to get sucked into the vortex that formed below the soaring speedster. Taken by surprise, Shockwave yelled out as he was drawn into the swirling current.

Noticing what had happened, Blurr pierced the nearest wall with the katana, angling himself so he could push downwards towards the Decepticon. Oil spurted out of the break, leaking all over Blurr and the surrounding area. Blurr shot downwards, not having time to aim the katana at Shockwave but still managing to throw his entire weight into him. Shockwave grunted loudly as Blurr crashed into him, and both went flying towards the ground. Shockwave landed with a thud with Blurr on top of him. Coming to his senses first, Blurr tried to dash away from Shockwave, but the oil he was covered in and stood upon made it near impossible for him to move. Traction was completely lost, and all he could do was slide about on the spot. Before long, he fell flat on his aft, splashing more oil over himself.

Shockwave, having tracks rather than wheels, was far more sure footed. He stood, towering over Blurr, who was laid out flat on his back, trying and failing to find some grip on the oil covered ground. Every movement just made him slip back to his initial position once more, but then Shockwave brought his support servo down on his chest, hard, keeping him in place and sending a ripple of pain through his chest.

_Blurr! _Flash Bang shouted through their bond. Blurr looked over at Flash Bang. Dark Spark was in the process of dragging her closer to Blurr and Shockwave, having knocked out Searchlight who was laid out on the ground on his front, optics offline. Blurr began squirming again, trying to slide out from under Shockwave and go over to Flash Bang. He wriggled and writhed both servos clamped around Shockwave's support servo in an attempt to get him off his chest. But the 'Con was far too strong and even _with_ the oil Blurr couldn't move him. The cannon was levelled at Blurr once more. On the verge of giving in, Blurr looked over at Flash Bang, the stasis cuffs on her wrists prevented her from moving, but even so she screamed out to Blurr through their bond.

_Blurr, I'm sorry, this is all my fault!_

_No, it's not. You were just being you, I can't fault you for that. _Blurr smiled weakly at Flash Bang. _You should have told me about the sparkling, though._

_I didn't know how to tell you. I don't suppose it matters now._

Blurr reached out to Flash Bang, his servo just inches from her. _I promise we'll get out of this. I promise..._

As Blurr comforted his bondmate, Dark Spark raised her gun and aimed at Flash Bang, the burning glow lighting up the red femme with a dark purple glow.

_I promise..._

_BOOM!_

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><p><strong>Oh no! <strong>

**D:**

**Please review!**

**:D**


	11. A Final Showdown Part II

**I've unofficialy decided that this series is from here on in going to be the "Flash Bang Series", simply because I was feeling uncreative at the time.**

**Anyway, this chapter's quite emotional, and depending on whether you cry easily or not you _may _need some tissues!**

**Enjoy!**

**:D**

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><p><span>Chapter Ten: A Final Showdown Part II<span>

The sound of the gunfire ricocheted from the basin walls as Energon exploded from Dark Spark's chest. She'd never had chance to fire at Flash Bang, in fact her gun had barely been half charged to fire before an unseen assailant shot her through the chest plate. From a cloud of smoke left from the shot of the weapon came Lockdown, huge smoking cannon on one arm and a holster laden with firearms sung over his chassis. He advanced towards the dying femme, who fell to her back and could do nothing but gurgle weakly as Energon pooled in her mouth.

"EMP repellent armour was never very strong against a head on shot from a half decent gun," Lockdown told her. Dark Spark's digits clenched in a pitiful attempt at forming a fist, but with a loud _hurk _her entire body twitched violently. Her optics offlined and her body faded to grey.

"_NO!" _Shockwave roared. In his rage, he powered up his cannon to full strength and took aim at Blurr. The speedster winced as the light of the cannon blinded him, and in what he feared was his final moment he looked over at Flash Bang. Lockdown had taken her to the safety of the tunnels, removing her stasis cuffs as he did so.

_I love you, _Blurr thought to her, a slight shake of fear in his thoughts.

_I love you, too, _Flash Bang replied. But there was confidence in her thoughts, because from where she was she could see more than Blurr could.

There was a faint _click _as the cannon was fully charged, but before Shockwave could release the blast, a green shape rose up and dove into Shockwave. The cycloptic Decepticon fell to the ground, Gearshift on top of him, but the cannon was still charged, and Shockwave couldn't help but release the trigger.

_BOOM!_

"_GEARSHIFT!" _Flash Bang screamed. The green mech stayed as he was, knelt over Shockwave with the barrel of the cannon pressed to his chest, where there was now a smoking hole. Gearshift was still, as if he was frozen in time, but before long his arms gave out and he rolled onto his side. Blurr, free from Shockwave's support servo, finally managed to get his balance and stood tall above the stunned Decepticon. Quick as a flash, Blurr took Gearshift's katana and leapt at Shockwave, bringing the blade down on his chest. With a piercing screech, the blade sank deep into Shockwave's spark.

"No..." was the last thing Shockwave said before his armour faded grey. Blurr knelt and rocked back onto his heel struts, letting his cranial unit drop onto his knees. It was finally over. It was finally done.

"Gearshift?" Flash Bang whimpered. Blurr looked up to see Flash Bang clinging onto her mech creator's servo, holding it to her face and crying into it. "Gearshift, don't leave me again! Please!"

Gearshift chuckled weakly. He was still alive, but his green armour had lost its lustre and his vital fluids were flowing freely from the wound. He clenched her servo in his and gave her a small smile. Searchlight, having come back online, walked up behind Flash Bang and put his servos on her shoulders. Blurr moved to kneel beside her, rubbing his servo down her back.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you," Gearshift said. "I regret everything... and if it wasn't too late I'd go back... to Mercury and make everything up to her... I wish I could see her again... just one more time..."

"I'll tell her everything," Flash Bang offered.

"No," Gearshift demanded. "Let her remember me as she does... I don't want her to see me as some... monster..."

"You're no monster," Flash Bang assured. "You were always a hero in my optics." Gearshift chuckled warmly and gave her arm a comforting squeeze.

"I'm no hero, Flash," Gearshift replied. "Though I thought I was being one when I betrayed... Yoketron for you... I mean... Oh, I don't know anymore."

"Shush now," Flash Bang said with a slight grin. "I understand better than I made out before." Lockdown walked into Gearshift's peripheral vision.

"Lockdown, my friend," Gearshift croaked out. "You're free from your... "obligation" to Flash Bang... These friends are all she needs... And Blurr?" He clamped a servo down on Blurr's arm. "Take care of... my Flash Bang."

"I will, sir," Blurr promised.

Flash Bang began to shake uncontrollably. Not only was she in pain over Gearshift, but her body was in agony, too. The spark was so close to being ready, but she refused to acknowledge it. Blurr and Searchlight both wrapped their arms around Flash Bang, cradling her as Gearshift's firm grip in her servo weakened. Lubricant cascaded from Flash Bang's optics as she watched Gearshift's green armour fade to that horrifying gunmetal grey. The pain of it was unbareable. To have been reuinated with her mech creator, long thought dead, only to watch him die once and for all? It was something no one should ever have to do.

But suddenly there was not time for tears as Flash Bang's entire torso became rigid with pain. She screamed loudly, alerting everyone to the fact she was delivering the new spark.

"Oh, slag," Blurr murmured. "We have to get her back to Icaon."

"Lockdown, you'll take us?" Searchlight said, turning to the bounty hunter. It was more a statement than a question.

"No," Lockdown replied. "Why should I?"

Searchlight was beside himself. "What do you mean, "Why should I"?" he yelled.

"Gearshift said I needn't take care o' the femme," he reminded the white mech. "So I'll leave ya to it. Got stuff ter be gettin' on with now, anyways."

"_You creation of a glitch!" _Searchlight roared. But Lockdown simply turned and walked away. Blurr turned to Searchlight.

"She's going to deliver, Searchlight! There's no way to stop it!" he gasped, clinging to his bondmate's servos. "Stay calm, Flash Bang, you'll be okay. I promised to get you out of this, and by Primus, I will!"

Flash Bang just flinched, repetitively, violently and uncontrollably. Her abdomen was surging with energy and light, and she desperately tried to grab onto Blurr. She was terrified, and who could blame her?

"What are we going to do? What are we going to _do?" _Blurr yelled. He was beginning to panic, becoming more and more fearful for his bondmate as she screamed and writhed in pain.

"Blurr should know it'll be okay, because Wheelie's here to save the day!" chimed the young orange bot as he ran into the basin. Blurr was amazed to see him, more because of what he held than the fact he was okay. He'd forgotten he'd run off.

"Wheelie? Where have you been?" Blurr demanded.

"Wheelie went to get some protomatter, so that Blurr won't have worry to make him natter!"

"Protomatter?" Burr asked. "Oh, of course! The Sonic Canyons is where it comes from! And protomatter is used to make-"

"Protoforms!" Searchlight finished. "But, Wheelie, surely you don't know how to _make _protoforms?"

"Searchlight would be surprised to learn what Wheelie can do, during my life the tricks I've picked up number more than a few!"

Wheelie dashed over to Flash Bang and Blurr, shaping the glob of protomatter into a humanoid form and laying it beside Flash Bang. Blurr was still worried – protoforms needed time to develop and if this was successful it would leave the sparkling horribly weak. Even if Wheelie was successful, they'd need to get back to Iacon as soon as possible. Wheelie looked up at his older friend.

"To transfer the new spark is for Blurr to do, but do not worry, I'm right with you."

"_Me?"_ Blurr asked, astonished. "But I don't know _anything _about-"

"No time! No time!" Wheelie cried as Flash Bang screamed again, releasing Blurr and clawing at her abdomen.

"Do it, _please_, Blurr!" she screamed. Blurr had never witnessed a spark delivery, but he was already shaking with nerves. He ever so gently put his servos against Flash Bang's abdomen and ever so gently pressed on it. There was a loud _click _and a gasp somewhere between pained and relieved as Flash Bang felt the trapped spark surge outwards. But it wasn't over yet.

Blurr had no tools, no medical knowledge and no idea of how to even start transferring the spark from Flash Bang to the protoform Wheelie had made, but as Blurr saw the spark, the culmination of _his _bond with Flash Bang, he felt instinct take over. Ever so gently, he put a servo around the spark. It tingled in his grip and sent pulses up his arm, but it didn't hurt. He slowly lifted it out, amazed that nothing had gone wrong. Flash Bang yelped as the spark was separated from her, a sound that was an odd combination of relief and remorse. Blurr couldn't say he knew how the bond of femme creator and creation worked, but it was clearly deep.

"Quickly, Blurr," Searchlight pushed. Blurr gently lowered the spark into the hollow chamber of the sparkling, terrified of dropping it. Wheelie put his servos beneath Blurr's, offering support. Together, they brought it to rest in the chamber. There was a surge of light and a soft _click _as the spark was accepted into the protoform. Flash Bang whimpered and grabbed Blurr's arm weakly.

"Is he okay?"

""He"?" Blurr asked. But he looked down at the sparkling and, as it took form, saw it was clearly male. The little armour-less bot was entirely green and white, but the shine that should have been present on his chassis wasn't there. Flash Bang pushed herself up, Searchlight by her side in an instant to help her sight upright.

"Take it easy, Flash," he soothed. "He'll be okay." Searchlight held her close to him, but he could feel Flash Bang push against him, trying to get at the sparkling. Searchlight let her go and instantly she dove at the sparkling, lifting him up gently with one arm around his back. She rested her other servo on his chest, desperate to sense the pulse of his spark. There was a weak, slow beat beneath the thin chest plate that had formed, and Flash Bang sighed in relief as she felt her creation was at the very least stable.

"How are we going to get back to Iacon?" Searchlight demanded. "Flash Bang's weak and the sparkling's certainly in no state to travel."

Blurr just shook his cranial unit. "I don't know... I really don't know..."

Blurr began to weep as desperation took over. He moved closer to Flash Bang and the sparkling and held them both in his arms. The little mech was so cold to the touch, not like Flash Bang, whose natural warmth could be felt a hic away. Lubricant fell from Blurr's face, leaving murky black streaks down his pale faceplate. He whimpered quietly, and felt more helpless than he ever had done before in his life.

Suddenly, the little mech's optics flickered online, and the delicate blue glow filled Blurr's spark with warmth. There was nothing he wanted more than to take the little one home, but given the current situation it seemed unlikely to ever happen. His lubricant tears dried up instantly as he saw those curious little optics look up at him, and suddenly Blurr felt nothing but determination to save the little one.

"Hello," Flash Bang cooed to him. The little one gave her a confused look, but then a small smile spread across his faceplate and he replied.

"Hello," he said quietly. Blurr wasn't sure if it was the curiosity or the weakness of his body that made him so quiet. Flash Bang held his faceplate in her servo and smiled down at him.

"Isn't he wonderful, Blurr?" she asked, absently. "What are we going to name him?"

"I think he should be named for-"

"_I _think we should be trying to get out of here," Searchlight suddenly cried out. "His name won't matter if we can't get him home safely."

The ground began to rumble then, as if a distant convoy was on its way to their location. Curious, Searchlight and Wheelie clambered up the basin wall, using the tunnels to get higher, until they found themselves on top. From there, they could see for hics in every direction, and they saw the rumbling wasn't a convoy – it was a single, very big Autobot.

"Dug Base has come to help us out! Call him over, go on, shout!" Wheelie chimed. Searchlight brought his servos to his mouth and yelled out.

"Dug Base! Over here!" he yelled. Wheelie began to jump up and down on the spot, waving his arms excitedly. Down below, Searchlight's shouts had alert the little family of three to Dug Base's approach. Carefully, Blurr lifted his creation up, cradling him in his arms. Flash Bang hefted herself up, leaning on Blurr for support.

"Is it true?" she asked amazed. As if on cue, Dug Base rolled into the basin, bringing a cheer of desperate joy out of Flash Bang.

"Searchlight, Wheelie, help Flash Bang up," Blurr instructed. In the excitement of everything, Blurr had completely forgotten his wounded support servo, and showed no sign of pain as he carried the little green mech onboard Dug Base. He gently leapt upwards and landed gracefully on Dug Base's platform. Carefully, he set the little one down and then seated himself directly behind him in order to be able to support him as Dug Base took them home. Blurr put a servo fondly onto Dug Base's platform.

"Thank you, old friend," he murmured softly.

"Blurr: welcome," Dug Base replied. Wheelie leapt up onto the platform and helped Flash Bang up, pulling her up by the servos as Searchlight pushed her up from below. With the two mechs' help, she scrambled up onto the platform. Wheelie helped her walked over to Blurr and their creation. He was so adorable, sat in his mech creator's lap looking tired and yet overly curious. Flash Bang felt her optics fill with lubricant again as she saw the two. Blurr was absently entertaining the sparkling simply by dancing his digits in the air in front of his young one's faceplate.

It was clear that Blurr was completely taken with him. He hadn't spent a second adjusting to the fact he existed, he'd just taken to him right away, and Flash Bang couldn't have been happier. She went and sat with them, stroking the youngling's cheek plate fondly as she settled. Dug Base began to move once everyone was on his platform, heading towards Iacon and safety at last.

They may have lost one green shelled Autobot that day, but this one was here to stay.

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><p>s<strong>*sniffle*<strong>

**I sort of planned to do something like this as soon as I decided Gearshift wasn't dead. **

**Anyway, there's one more chapter and then the epilogue to go. This one isn't as long as _Fragments, _but I've enjoyed writing it loads.**

**:P**

**Please review!**

**:D**


	12. Homeward Bound

**Well, here we are again. I don't have much to say, just sit back and enjoy the ending.**

**:D**

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><p><span>Chapter Eleven: Homeward Bound<span>

"Straight to the infirmary for all of you," Mercury commanded, seeing Flash Bang and Blurr huddling their youngling. They hadn't actually intended to meet her; she'd just been on her way home from a delivery and was passing the same route as them. They were back in Iacon now, and they all felt a lot safer, but Mercury had seen them a hic away and had started telling them to do what they'd already planned.

"That was the plan," Flash Bang croaked weakly. She gave her femme creator a small smile, but couldn't help feeling like she ought to just spill everything about Gearshift to her. But no, he'd asked her to keep it a secret, and if that was what he'd really wanted, then it was what she'd do.

"He is a little _darling _though, isn't he?" Mercury cooed to the little one. She played with his digits as he looked up at her with curiosity. "What are you going to call him?"

Blurr helped Mercury climb atop Dug Base, who rolled on towards the infirmary, as Flash Bang began to answer.

"We're not sure yet," she admitted. "Although I think Blurr was going to suggest something before Searchlight so rudely interrupted him."

Searchlight scoffed and looked off in the direction they were heading. Flash Bang chuckled, only for her vocal processor to have a slight malfunction.

"Dear thing, you're not in a good way, are you?" Mercury gasped. Flash Bang shook her head weakly. The sparkling, who now sat in Flash Bang's lap, tried to help his femme creator keep her cranial unit up by stretching his backbone infrastructure out so he was taller and the perfect height for Flash Bang to rest on. Flash Bang chuckled at the gesture, but the little one soon gave in and slumped down again.

"He's so fragile…" Blurr worried.

"Well, don't be too concerned," Searchlight called over to him. "We've arrived."

Dug Base came to a stop, and already a number of medics had rushed out to help everyone's favourite racer and his family get inside. Blurr himself was only in need of a few minor repairs, mostly to his support servo, but everyone was giving him odd looks at his new appearance.

"Look, it's a long story and there are more important things to think about right now," he said to them all.

"And the story is one I'm most looking forward to hear," Mercury said, watching the medics rush Flash Bang and the sparkling inside. "I hear there were Decepticons involved."

Blurr put a servo to his cranial unit. "You're probably better asking Flash once she's all fixed up," he explained. "I don't know how much she wants me to say."

"I see," Mercury said, a look of mock scepticism on her faceplate. "You do know that Flash Bang can very rarely keep _anything _from me?"

"I'm sure she'll tell you all," Blurr lied. Just then, another medic came and gestured for Blurr to head inside. "See you later, Mercury. I'll make sure Flash Bang's okay." Mercury waved goodbye to him, than grabbed the medic's arm as he turned to follow Blurr.

"You better make sure the lot of them pull through, got it?" she demanded. She wasn't exactly harsh in the way she said it, but her tone was enough to send the medic off at a nervous run. Mercury turned and headed home.

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><p>"Blurr, what <em>happened <em>to you?" Wheeljack demanded, circling around Blurr to get a better look at him. Blurr chuckled slightly.

"I had a slight run-in with Lockdown," he answered. "And this was the result."

"A new set of armour?"

"No, the armour's the same, just coated in a weird alloy," Blurr corrected. He went on to explain that his support servos were what had been changed the most.

"Blurr, this wasn't the… the Vortex Upgrade, was it?" Wheeljack asked. The worry in his voice was obvious.

"Why do you ask?" Blurr asked, his optics narrowing slightly. Suddenly, Wheeljack was back to his regular self, as if he'd snapped out of a daze.

"No reason," he said. "Now, I'd better get back to your bondmate and sparkling. They're going to transfer his spark to a better protoform, though where on Cybertron did you get one out in the middle of nowhere?"

"Apparently my friend Wheelie has hidden talents," Blurr answered. With a surprised shrug, Wheeljack turned and walked back into one of the nearby wards.

_Well, that was weird, _Blurr thought to himself. But with a shrug, he continued his impatient wait for Flash Bang and the sparkling, the occasional bought of worry creasing his faceplate. But he knew they'd be okay.

* * *

><p>It was at least a whole megacycle later when Blurr was allowed into the ward. The medic had caught him in the middle of a stasis nap, spread out on a bench in the waiting room. Laid out on the berth, with a fully armoured green sparkling in her lap, was Flash Bang. Both of them had a brilliant shine to their armour, as they should have, and Flash Bang was cooing and babbling to the little sparkling. She seemed so at peace, not erratic like she often was. But it was almost painfully obvious that the sparkling had inherited her natural curiosity. Next to the berth was a glass container holding liquid protomatter – the remains of the sparkling's original protoform. Blurr sauntered over to the two of them, and when the sparkling saw him, he was clearly excited.<p>

"Blurry!" he squeaked happily, reaching out to Blurr. Blurr laughed at the little one's nickname for him. Flash Bang chuckled, too.

"He's renamed us," she warned, cheekily. "He keeps calling me "Flashy"."

"Flashy?" Blurr mused, sitting on a chair by the medical berth so he could play with his creation. "I kind of like that." He took a hold of the little one's support servos and toyed with them, pumping them up and down gently. The sparkling giggled and clapped happily.

"Blurry and Flashy!" he squealed joyously, falling backwards against Flash Bang, who wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"Isn't he wonderful?" she cooed. "But what _are _we going to call him?"

"Well, back in the Canyons," Blurr began, "I was thinking… how about "Gearshift"?"

Flash Bang seemed to freeze for a moment. Blurr held her gaze, showing there was nothing more than honesty in his suggestion. He really wanted to name their creation after Flash Bang's mech creator. At first, Flash Bang was unsure what to think of it. Every memory, good or bad, of Gearshift flashed through her processor. She felt angry, betrayed and overjoyed all at the same time. But before long, she made her processor up.

"Yes," she said quietly. "I think it'd be perfect."

A huge grin spread across Blurr's faceplate. "Did you hear that, little one? You have a name!"

"Gears!" the little one cheered. Blurr laughed.

"Gearshift," Blurr corrected. "Gear-_shift."_

"Gear Shaft?" Gearshift replied. Blurr and Flash Bang chuckled again.

"Gear-_shift," _Flash Bang repeated. The little one looked up at her and smiled. He understood.

"Gearshift!" he cried happily. "Gearshift, Gearshift, Gearshift!"

"I hope he learns more words quickly," Blurr mumbled cheekily. "That could get annoying fast." Flash Bang tapped her support servo against his lightly, a small kick to tell him off. Gearshift repeated the gesture, only a lot harder, causing Blurr to gasp in surprise. Gearshift giggled away, as Blurr tried to reign in his signs of pain, not that the feeling lasted long, as both he and Flash Bang descended into laughter once more.

"Let's get him home," Blurr said, standing up and holding out a servo to Gearshift. "Come on, little one." Gearshift stretched forwards and took Blurr's servo, playing with his white digits. Blurr curled his digits around the young one's servo and pulled him up, not letting go in case he fell. But he was sturdy, and his legs held him up with ease. Blurr smiled as Gearshift rearranged his servo so he was holding Blurr's tightly, not just his digits. In his other servo, he took a hold of Flash Bang. The two creators just revelled in the moment for a time, before a quiet cough from a nearby medic brought them back to reality.

"Come on, then," Flash Bang cooed to Gearshift, who happily squeezed her servo as they led him outside. She looked over at Blurr. "Do we need to take him to the Guilds Domesticus to get him registered?"

"Probably," Blurr replied. "Sparklings are a rare thing nowadays but whilst I was working for Intel I remember reading a fair number of reports sent from the Guilds. We had to check them for some reason to do with anti-Decepticon precautions."

"The Council really think that the Decepticons would send sparklings to war?"

"I'm pretty sure they would," Blurr murmured. His tone was scathing, and it was clear he hated the idea. "But, let's not dwell on that, shall we? Today's a day for celebration!"

Little Gearshift looked up at his mech creator. "Celebration?"

"He learns quickly," Flash Bang mused. "That's right, little Gearshift, celebration. It's a very special day today."

"Special," Gearshift repeated. "Special celebration."

"That's right," Blurr said, scooping up the little mech and bringing him high into the air. Gearshift giggled and cried out "whee" happily as Blurr held him up. A disapproving medic gave Blurr an angry glare at the sight; clearly it was felt that the little one's support servos should remain flat on the floor. "I'll do what I like with _my _creation," Blurr hissed quietly to Flash Bang, who giggled slightly.

"And I won't tell you otherwise," Flash Bang promised, "although he's looking a little nauseous after that". Indeed, Gearshift was lolling about dizzily in Blurr's arms. Blurr chuckled slightly and handed him to Flash Bang. The sparkling fit perfectly into her curves and sat comfortably on her hip, looking around as the dizziness faded.

"I may have to start researching how to be a good creator," Blurr mused. "This is new territory for me. But let's get him home, shall we?"

Gearshift clung tightly to Flash Bang as they walked along. His optics scanned everything they came across, and from time to time he yelled out to passing bots "special celebration!" Despite a few confused looks, it was an entertaining sight, and most bots smiled and waved to him. Some bots were so amazed at the sight of a sparkling that they stopped to talk with the new creators. It wasn't long before Flash Bang and Blurr learnt why there was so much surprise.

"There's not been a sparkling since Megatron began his search for the AllSpark," one mech said as he played with Gearshift. "And that was, what, four million stellar cycles ago?"

"Primus, am I _so_ old?" Flash Bang gasped, putting a servo to her faceplate. Gearshift copied the gesture. The mech laughed.

"I'd give my right support servo to be so young again," the mech chuckled. He didn't seem particularly old to Flash Bang, but she giggled at the compliment anyway.

Soon enough, they were home. Gearshift seemed ever so curious about the penthouse – he was running up and down the corridors, in and out of rooms, crawling under and over the berths and was generally having a good explore. Flash Bang and Blurr followed him closely, trying to keep up with him. Surprisingly, for such a new sparkling, he was full of incredible energy. He was taking after Blurr in that department, evidently.

After about half a megacycle of trying to keep tabs on Gearshift, Blurr finally managed to get him to sit still. Almost as soon as he did so, there was a knock at the door. Flash Bang went to see who it was, and came back into the living room a moment later with Wheelie, Dug Base, Searchlight and Mercury. Huge grins on all their faceplates, they quickly fell about the young mech.

"Oh, isn't he darling?"

"Gearshift: adorable."

"Wheelie say we play today?"

"Poor thing looks completely overwhelmed."

Indeed, Gearshift looked about with surprise, but he quickly grew comfortable with the bots surrounding him and began giggling and playing with them happily. Mercury was absolutely taken with him, scooping him up and twirling round with him, dancing around the room with him in her purple arms. He took to climbing over Dug Base as if he were an enormous playground attraction and was quickly joined by Wheelie, who wasn't that much bigger than Gearshift. Searchlight watched on with a grin on his faceplate, even his spark was warmed by the little mech.

Flash Bang and Blurr sat back to allow everyone the chance to have a play with Gearshift. He enjoyed every second of attention given to him, and Flash Bang took note of how he seemed to have her and Blurr's mutual love of being in the spotlight. The two creators sat together as they watched, happy to be reunited once more. A feeling of pride surged through the sparks as they came to believe, together, that life was going to be brilliant from here on in.

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><p><strong>The epilogue will be up in a moment, I don't want to wait a week to round this off.<strong>

**Please review!**

**:D**


	13. Epilogue: Four Lunar Cycles Later

**These fics seem to be the only ones I can actually finish. I have two other multi chapter fics that I haven't touched in (literally) years.**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

**:D**

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><p><span>Epilogue: Four Lunar Cycles Later<span>

"I don't want to go," Gearshift huffed, refusing to let go of Flash Bang's servo. "Can't I stay at home with Uncle Wheelie?"

"But if you don't go, how will you learn how to be a good Autobot?" Blurr retorted.

"You and Flashy can teach me, or Uncle Wheelie" he replied, hiding behind Flash Bang's legs. Gearshift was a little too big to be well hidden behind his femme creator, however, but he sure was quick on his support servos. Blurr went to pick him up, but he dashed out of the way and Blurr fell flat on his faceplate. Blurr growled playfully and a small game of chase ensued, Flash Bang caught in the middle. Servos on her hips, Flash Bang huffed.

A quiet chuckled sounded from one of the doorways. "So, this is Gearshift?" Arcee asked. The little green mech skidded to a halt as he saw the bright pink femme. "Hello," she said, extending a servo to him, which he took shyly. "My name's Arcee, and I'm going to be your teacher."

Gearshift clearly didn't know what to say, and so managed to choke out a quiet, "Okay." Arcee smiled and straightened up.

"Shy little thing, isn't he?"

"You won't be saying that by the end of the day," Flash Bang warned with a smile. Arcee chuckled in response. "Anyway, we have to be going, Blurr's got a championship race in less than a megacycle."

"Good luck, Blurr," Arcee said.

"Thank you," Blurr replied. He stooped down to be optic level with Gearshift. "You be good for Arcee, okay? She didn't have to be your teacher, you know."

"I know," Gearshift replied quietly. Blurr smiled warmly at him.

"Yes, preferably don't start running around the room like you do _so often _at home," Flash Bang chided. Gearshift huffed, only for the grown bots around him to laugh. "Anyway, think you can take it from here?"

"Certainly," Arcee replied. "I'll be sure to take good care of him." She turned back to Gearshift. "How about we start with a history lesson? Personally, I'm rather fond of the myths about the AllSpark."

As Arcee led Gearshift into a nearby classroom, Blurr looped an arm around Flash Bang's waist and led her back outside. It was a bright day, and bots were going about their daily business with cheer. A few bots stopped to say hello to the couple as they walked to the Iacon Racetrack, and one over excited fan followed them for a time, until Autotroopers saw him and sent him on his way. The two happily walked together in silence for a time, but then a nearby news screen flashed into life.

"Some good news today," the reporter said. "The bounty hunter and Autobot defector Lockdown has been captured, after his support servos exploded during one of his little raids."

Flash Bang and Blurr just gaped at the screen in shock, though before long, a sly grin spread across Blurr's faceplate. "I knew he'd try it."

"You _gave _him your schematics, didn't you?" Flash Bang demanded. "Was it in return for the upgrade?"

"Yes, Flash," Blurr said, nothing of remorse in his voice. "But I knew he wouldn't be able to cope with it. His body isn't tuned like mine is. To be honest, I'm surprised he even tried. It was a bit of a stupid thing to do, if you think about it."

"You think it's funny, don't you?" Flash Bang asked. Her voice was oddly steady, as if she was hiding anger.

"To be honest, yes," Blurr replied. "He should have known and I don't like him anyway."

"But it's because of him that you managed to save me."

"He abandoned us when you were delivering!"

That shut Flash Bang up. Indeed he had abandoned them, and Flash Bang could have been in a terrible state because of it. It was simply because of the loyalty Blurr shared with his friends that they were safe. Still, Flash Bang found herself feeling odd about the situation. Certainly, there was little to like about Lockdown, but he'd saved her from Dark Spark and even helped to do it a second time. Flash Bang felt torn – one part of her hated him for ruining her youngling days, the other – to an extent – liked him for saving her as well as defending her mech creator. Unfortunately, a combination of the former point and the fact that he was an enemy to Autobots meant the positives were outweighed by the negatives.

"On the bright side," Blurr said suddenly, "at least we know where to find him if we ever need him again."

"And why would we need to find him?" Flash Bang demanded. Blurr frowned for a moment.

"I'm sure it's nothing," he began, "but Wheeljack said something about the upgrade Lockdown gave me. He acted like it was… like it was a very bad thing, but only for the slightest moment."

Flash Bang thought for a second on the matter, but then shrugged it off and grinned cheekily. "Well, hopefully nothing bad will happen any time soon," she said. "After all, sparkling number two is on the way."

"What?" Blurr asked, flabbergasted, but Flash Bang only grinned further and continued to walk towards the Racetrack, leaving Blurr behind with his mouth hanging open.

END

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><p><strong>And so another chapter of Flash Bang's life comes to a close. Don't fret, dear fans (who may want to see this continue), for I have plans!<strong>

**Yes, a sequel is in the works. I currently have the basic plot planned out and who's going to be in it aside from the usual characters. And no, Gearshift isn't coming back from the dead... again. Anyone who paid attention whilst reading the above may have a clue as to what part three is going to concern.**

**However, a word of warning: part three is going to be a **_**whole lot darker. **_**As in, it's going to be an M rating, no question. I'm sorry to any younger readers, but hopefully it won't be too horrific, if at all. Themes are the M material more than situations... actually, that's a bit of a lie. The whole shebang's pretty dark.**

**On the other hand, I also have a **_**prequel **_**planned out, which will be based around Gearshift and Mercury, so if anyone grew to like the arrogant green bot then they'll get to see a whole lot more of him! I've decided to do this more out of want than because I think readers want to see it, but I'd dearly love you all to check it out anyway!**

**Start dates for both of these are still in the black, as my one and only exam is coming up and I'm starting my new job today. And on top of that, there's the actual book I'm writing, which should be taking up a lot of my time...**

**Oh, and **_**Alice: Madness Returns **_**is out on Thursday, and I've been waiting for that for, what, eleven years now?**

**Anyway, lastly, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, subscribed to the story/me and favourited the story/me. I appreciate it all and I can't thank you enough for the kind words and the ego boosts you all give me. I really do enjoy writing simply to hear what you people have to say.**

**Awesomeness, the biggest thank you to you seeing as you review every week! You're lovely comments keeping my fingers typing.**

**:)**

**Finally, please review!**

**:D**


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